ness, the consumer’s home, or at a farmers market. HB 91 was Represen- tative Flynn’s third attempt to expand raw milk sales.
In written testimony to the Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Re- lations, TMA says milk pasteurization was one of the United States’ most ef- fective public health practices, adding that unpasteurized milk can contain bacteria that cause gastrointestinal illness and serious diseases. “If the state relaxes the current re- strictions on the sale of raw milk, it is a fact more people will become ill from raw milk consumption,” TMA wrote. “This will result in greater costs to the state and local government for inves- tigation, inspection, and the care of those who will need to be hospitalized. These illnesses and hospitalizations are preventable.” HB 91 passed the House but didn’t
make it through either of two Senate committees. Rep. Wayne Smith (R-Baytown) in-
troduced House Bill 767, which would have required would-be student ath- letes to receive an electrocardiogram (EKG) before they could play Univer- sity Interscholastic League-sponsored (UIL) sports. Scott Stephens, father of the late Cody Stephens, was one of HB 767’s most visible backers. Cody, who had played football at Crosby High School and was set to graduate weeks later, died in his sleep from sudden cardiac arrest in May 2012.
TMA noted that the science behind
EKGs doesn’t support broad-scale screening and advocated on behalf of current UIL policy, which mandates a full pre-participation history and physical exam for each student ath- lete. HB 767 passed the House but did not make it out of the Senate Educa- tion Committee. (See “Following the Science,” July 2015 Texas Medicine, pages 47–51, or visit
www.texmed.org/ FollowingtheScience.) A broad new effort to improve health care materialized with Rep. Myra Crownover’s (R-Denton) suc- cessful effort to establish the Tex-
as Health Improvement Network (THIN) with House Bill 3781, which Governor Abbott signed in June. Op- erating as part of The University of Texas System, the network will work to reduce per-capita health care costs and improve the health care experi- ence for patients. It will include ex- perts in more than a dozen fields, in- cluding general public health, mental health, social work, nursing, pharmacy, social work, engineering, and comput- er science. TMA, in supporting the creation
of THIN, reminded the House Pub- lic Health Committee that it has tes- tified to the legislature before about the state’s “fragmented and under- resourced” public health system. “We will be unable to sustain our
vibrant economy and population if so many of our patients not only are get- ting sick with preventable conditions but also are getting sick earlier and are sicker for longer periods,” TMA told the committee in written comments. Another TMA-backed and Gover- nor Abbott-approved measure to pro- tect the state’s health information ex- changes (HIEs) also gives physicians a choice on how to submit health data. Rep. John Zerwas (R-Simonton) au- thored House Bill 2641, which allows physicians with appropriate authority to report data to and access informa- tion from DSHS-housed public health registries, such as ImmTrac and the Texas Cancer Registry. Physicians may choose to submit data either di- rectly to DSHS or through their local HIE. TMA successfully pushed for in- clusion of liability protections in this bill that will ensure physicians are not responsible for the breach of data caused by an HIE.
Joey Berlin is a reporter for Texas Medicine. You can reach him by phone at (800) 880-1300, ext. 1393, or (512) 370-1393; by fax at (512) 370-1629; or by email at
joey.berlin@
texmed.org.
Let TMA Online Classified Ads Work for You!
For as little as $25, you can place your classified ad and reach Texas physicians like you!
Go to www.
texmed.org/ classifieds
started today. Scan to get
August 2015 TEXAS MEDICINE 51
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76