tify all conditions, diseases, and expres- sions of disease that under state law must be reported to state or local public health authorities. While most notifiable conditions must be reported within one week, more timely requirements apply for many other cases or suspected cases of illness. The new list, which took effect April 1, includes two multidrug resistant or- ganisms: carbapenem-resistant Entero- bacteriaceae and multidrug-resistant Aci- netobacter. Also, severe acute respiratory syndrome has been replaced by a more inclusive “Coronavirus, novel causing se- vere acute respiratory disease.” The list provides additional condition- specific information on reporting. You should make most reports directly to your local or regional health department. While your county disease reporting contact (
www.dshs.state.tx.us/idcu/in- vestigation/conditions/contacts) may develop a customized form for reporting, you also may report by telephone to the state office at (888) 963-7111. For no- tifiable conditions requiring an immedi- ate report, you may report by telephone 24/7 at (800) 705-8868.
Physicians Foundation examines ACA rollout
Despite its rocky start, the Affordable Care Act is well under way to being im- plemented nationwide. Between Oct. 1, 2013, and Feb. 1, 2014, 3.3 million peo- ple nationally enrolled in and selected a marketplace plan.
Physicians continue to grapple with confusion over certain issues of ACA implementation, including political and budget issues at the federal and state levels and how those issues will affect their practices in the years ahead. A comprehensive new report from
The Physicians Foundation, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: From Theory to Boots on the Ground, examines critical issues facing the implementation of health insurance exchanges and ongo- ing challenges of health reform, includ- ing state Medicaid programs. The 48- page white paper, available at http://bit .ly/1mPe2gr, also provides perspective
on critical matters facing physicians in the years ahead. Boots on the Ground covers:
• Significant near-term ACA issues such as the congressional defunding move-
ment; decisions by states, including Texas, not to expand their Medicaid programs; and the extensive techno- logical challenges associated with the federally facilitated exchanges and the federal Data Services Hub.
Erica Schmidt, area director for Refugee Services of Texas (RST) in Austin, accepted the secondary TMA Foundation Champion of Health Award. TMA Foundation President G. Sealy Massingill, MD, presented her with a $2,500 grant at the TMA Winter Conference. RST’s medical case management program provides free medical services to refugees within the first 90 days of their arrival.
American Medical Association President Ardis Hoven, MD, told Texas physicians at the TMA Winter Conference that closing gaps in medical education, improving physician satisfaction, and bettering patient health outcomes are the three pillars of AMA’s strategic advocacy goals.
April 2014 TEXAS MEDICINE 11
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