help us more effectively communicate the importance of preventive measures when public health threats emerge,” Dr. Chung said.
Medical societies key to response Umair Shah, MD, deputy director of Harris County Public Health & Environ- mental Services (HCPHES), understands the importance of collaboration among doctors, public health officials, state and local health agencies, hospitals, and oth- ers to ensure a successful response to a public health emergency. “My parents taught me no matter how hard you try, you can’t clap with one hand; you need two. Similarly, we need public health and those involved in individual clinical patient care to work together to benefit the overall health of a population on an ongoing basis. The same holds true during response to emergencies, disasters, and disease out- breaks. Physicians on the front lines are essential to the public health response,” said Dr. Shah, director of the HCPHES Disease Control & Clinical Prevention Division.
That’s where medical society commit- tees come into play. Dr. Shah serves on the Harris County Medical Society (HCMS) Emergency Care and Community Health Improve- ment & Communication committees. “Both recognize the importance of population health and assist physicians in contributing to public health,” he said. For example, during the H1N1 influ- enza outbreak in 2009, HCPHES was in emergency response mode for more than a year. “We all wanted to have unified mes- sages that made physicians aware of testing and lab specimen guidelines, diagnoses information, and the nature of the epidemiology of the disease,” Dr. Shah said. “HCPHES pushed out these messages through its Health Alert Net- work, but HCMS was instrumental in making sure a large portion of the physi- cians in the area received the message. Once vaccine was available for H1N1, we used the same collaboration with HCMS to apprise physicians of immuni- zation guidelines.” David A. Marks, MD, a San Antonio
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November 2012 TEXAS MEDICINE 39 • RAC Audits Maintaining Physician Income • PQRS
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