ABSTRACT
Thanks in large part to COVID-19, telemedicine has arrived. Where does it go from here? That was much of the focus of a Telehealth Virtual Bootcamp, an Aug. 29 presentation by the Telehealth Initiative that touched on technology, applications, and payment.
Subject(s)
Education, Medical, Continuing , Telemedicine , Humans , Physicians , Remote ConsultationABSTRACT
The way the Texas Legislature conducts business during the 2021 session may look different due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the Texas Medical Association's commitment to improving health care remains the same. Some of those goals are up against deep cuts to state agency budgets. At the same time, however, the pandemic has created opportunities for medicine to bend lawmakers' ear on some of its longstanding goals, including advancing access to care, vaccines, health coverage, and telemedicine.
Subject(s)
COVID-19/epidemiology , Legislation, Medical , State Government , COVID-19/prevention & control , Humans , TexasABSTRACT
The malaise in physician practice long known as burnout - a term doctors increasingly balk at - has been exacerbated by the pandemic, as an extensive survey by the Physicians Foundation recently showed. It's created its own stressors and made existing ones worse.
Subject(s)
Burnout, Professional/epidemiology , COVID-19/therapy , Burnout, Professional/etiology , Humans , Physicians/psychology , Texas/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Physicians believe some payers are taking advantage of COVID chaos with their drug policies, but also see some plans taking steps to make care easier during the pandemic.
Subject(s)
Coronavirus Infections , Cost Allocation , Insurance, Health, Reimbursement , Pandemics , Patient Safety , Pneumonia, Viral , Practice Patterns, Physicians' , State Health Plans , Time-to-Treatment , COVID-19 , Humans , TexasABSTRACT
Stephanie Stephens received a not-so-welcome gift entering her new job running Medicaid operations for the nation's second-largest state: A global pandemic. In that sense, the universe wasn't easy on Ms. Stephens, the new director of Medicaid and CHIP for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC).
Subject(s)
Health Services Accessibility , Health Services Administration , Leadership , Medicaid/organization & administration , COVID-19 , Coronavirus Infections/epidemiology , Female , Global Health , History, 21st Century , Humans , Pandemics , Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology , Quality Improvement , Quality of Health Care , Texas , United StatesSubject(s)
Coronavirus Infections/epidemiology , Delivery of Health Care , Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology , Reimbursement Mechanisms , Telemedicine , Videoconferencing , Betacoronavirus , COVID-19 , Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S. , Electronic Health Records , Humans , Inservice Training , Internet Access , Pandemics , SARS-CoV-2 , Software , Texas/epidemiology , United StatesABSTRACT
Ricardo Garza, MD, was still walking the tightrope: standing, but unable to withstand another gust of wind. COVID-19 swept away about 35% of the San Antonio solo cardiologist's practice revenue, and that was just what he could calculate as he waited for insurers to process straggling claims. But he had returned to in-office operations without any layoffs. While some practices are surviving - and trying their best to prepare for future threats - others weren't so lucky. On-the-ground experiences align with the Texas Medical Association's Practice Viability Survey in showing COVID-19 was, and still is, a disruptor unlike any other - challenging or torpedoing the viability of various practice types.
ABSTRACT
As the state ramps up "contact tracing" as a key part of Gov. Greg Abbott's plan to stop the spread of COVID-19 and return Texas to economic normalcy, some health officials say physicians can help those for whom quarantine and isolation are a challenge.
ABSTRACT
Under Texas law, physicians treating COVID-19 patients in a volunteer capacity have potential defenses against lawsuits that might arise from that care. But for non-volunteer physicians on the COVID battlefield - often working in harrowing, overloaded settings, high on patient count and low on equipment - the same liability shields don't exist. And with a resurgence in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations taking hold in June, the Texas Medical Association continued its pandemic-long push to extend liability protections to all frontline physicians, volunteer or not.
ABSTRACT
As COVID-19 ravaged human lives, it also took a toll on physician morale and mental health.