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the health of all Texans and that are “champions” of good health in their com- munities. Dr. McGovern established a permanent endowment at TMAF, which supports this award.


TMA online exhibit celebrates African– American physicians


The stories of pioneering African-Amer- ican physicians who first established medical practices in Texas after the Civil War are told in the TMA online exhibit, “Courage and Determination.” These pioneers faced big challenges practicing medicine during the racial segregation of America’s “Jim Crow” years. Texas’ first African-American doc- tor, Quinton Belvedere Neal, MD, began treating patients in 1882, helping pave the way for others. The exhibit profiles more than 60 pioneering African-American physicians in the state. It is based on the popular museum display exhibited in the TMA History of Medicine Gallery in 2010–11, the first known exhibit on this subject presented by a state medical association.


The exhibit honors other doctor-pio-


neers like Monroe Alpheus Majors, MD, of Waco, the first African-American from Texas to earn a medical degree; William Arthur Hammond, MD, of Bryan, one of the first to open a black hospital in Tex- as; Edith Irby Jones, MD, of Houston, a TMA member, the first to desegregate a Southern medical school; and Frank Bry- ant Jr. MD, of San Antonio, also a TMA member, the first African-American to serve in the TMA House of Delegates. Some early African-American physi-


cians were born slaves, such as Franklin R. Robey, MD, of Houston, while oth- ers were the children of slaves, such as George M. Munchus, MD, of Fort Worth. To visit the exhibit, visit www.texmed


.org/gallery/, and click on the Courage and Determination link.


Be part of history


The TMA Knowledge Center is collecting oral histories of physicians’ memories of Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, as the 50th an- niversary of the Kennedy assassination approaches.


These histories will become part of the TMA Archives, joining stories re-


lated to the assassination published in subsequent issues of Texas Medicine, then known as the Texas State Journal of Medicine, in 1963 and 1964. A display will be created as part of the next TMA History of Medicine Gal- lery exhibit on the history of forensic pathology. If you are interested in sharing your story, email knowledge@texmed.org.


Risk management for electronic medical records


BY LAURA HALE BROCKWAY By now,


many physicians know that issues relat- ed to documentation are a leading cause of medical liability suits. For years, the Texas Medical Liability Trust (TMLT) fea- tured closed claim studies and continu- ing medical education (CME) articles that stress the importance of maintain- ing proper documentation.


Newsmakers


Three physicians are among seven members Gov. Rick Perry reappointed to the Texas Institute of Health Care Quality and Efficiency Board of Directors. The institute improves health care quality, accountability, education, and cost to the state by encouraging health care provider collaboration, effective health care delivery models, and coordination of health care services. The physicians are John C. Joe, MD, Houston, chief medical information officer at St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System; Beverly Nuckols, MD, New Braunfels, a family physician; and Ben Raimer, MD, Galveston, senior vice president and professor at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.


14 TEXAS MEDICINE April 2013


This article covers the documentation pitfalls specifically related to electronic medical records (EMRs) and how to avoid them. EMRs come with their own risk management issues, and it’s impor- tant to address them. TMLT risk management representa- tives visit more than 1,000 physicians each year to help identify liability expo- sures and to suggest methods to reduce risk. The following information is based on their observations and recommenda- tions for physicians using EMRs. Implement a strict policy regarding


passwords and security. Authorized us- ers of an EMR system receive passwords. The system associates the person who enters that password as the author of the entry in the medical record. It is impera- tive that only the people to whom they are assigned use the passwords. A staff member should not have ac- cess to the physician’s level of security because that staff member could add or alter information as if he or she were the physician. Staff members should have their own password and level of security clearance based on their job functions. Avoid sharing passwords simply to make the entry of information easier. (TMLT


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