Dear ##FirstName##,

With new procedures, new technologies and new regulations, physicians’ practices are constantly evolving. To that end, the Texas Medical Association has partnered with MultiBriefs to create TMA Weekly Headlines, an opt-out e-mail resource providing comprehensive news briefings of the week’s top stories in the field. The first issue will be distributed Dec. 11.

Each edition of TMA Weekly Headlines contains articles gathered from an expansive list of sources, including The New York Times, USA Today, The Dallas Morning-News, The Houston Chronicle and leading industry publications. Delivered to the inboxes of TMA members only, TMA Weekly Headlines keeps subscribers abreast of topics that impact how Texas physicians care for their patients.

“We need to give our physician members an easy way to keep up with critical state and national health care news in one place,” said TMA president Josie R. Williams, MD. “And we need to show them how TMA is influencing the public debate.”

TMA Weekly Headlines is a great way to keep informed. The electronic publication can be easily read in your office, home, or via your mobile phone or PDA.

Want to see more? Here are some examples of the articles that will appear in TMA Weekly Headlines.

Galveston Hospital Might Not Recover Post-Ike
from UPI, Dec. 2, 2008
The John Sealy Hospital in Galveston, Texas, may never fully recover from damage caused by Hurricane Ike, officials say. The hospital, part of the University of Texas Medical Branch, was flooded by the Sept. 13 storm, affecting its blood bank, pharmacy, laboratory and kitchens and causing $710 million in damage. Its emergency trauma center is closed, forcing patients to be taken 50 miles to Houston, USA Today reported Tuesday. More

Economic Recovery Begins with Medicaid
from The Times Union, Dec. 3, 2008
Our states need a one-time shot in the arm to address the crisis. Wall Street has been given a bailout, but Main Street needs a booster shot. There is a way to deliver significant health care relief to millions while providing some protection to education. It simply requires increasing the share of federal support for Medicaid. As states struggle to cover their contribution to Medicaid, other budget priorities suffer. An increase from the federal government, which shares funding of Medicaid with the states, would help states twofold: protect the part of Medicaid that provides health insurance for the working poor and ease off devastating cuts to their other most vulnerable area - namely, education. More

Doctors Urge: Rescue Primary Care or Work Force Shortage Will Mount
from American Medical News, Dec. 8, 2008
The lack of access to primary care doctors leads to worse health outcomes and higher costs, according to an American College of Physicians report released in November and aimed at influencing the shape of impending health system reform. As the population ages and demands on health services increase, Americans will find it more difficult to locate primary care physicians to help coordinate care in a fragmented system. More

Going High Profile: Medical Boards Push Transparency
from American Medical News, Dec. 8, 2008
Physicians can expect to see more information about their malpractice payments, disciplinary actions and other identifying data being made easily accessible online. "People expect transparency," said David Swankin, president and CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based Citizen Advocacy Center, which offers training and research for members of health care regulatory, credentialing and governing boards. "It's a good thing to see. For too long we drew the balance the wrong way." More