of ACOG had no issue with want- ing to improve the education parents were getting on Down syndrome, Dr. Hampton says, particularly in cases of a prenatal diagnosis. But ACOG ob- jected to “another piece of informa- tion that the state was requiring that we talk to our patients about,” he said. “We just felt like that was invad-
ing on the doctor-patient relation- ship, having legislators telling doctors how to practice medicine, or what to tell the patients,” Dr. Hampton add- ed. “We really didn’t have any prob- lem with the message. I think both sides very strongly agreed that there ought to be full and complete disclo- sure, discussion [with] anybody with a baby that has chromosomal problems, genetic abnormalities, birth defects, whatever the problem might be. “We felt like there was plenty of in- formation that was already out there, and we felt like our physicians were doing a good job of talking to patients about these types of things.”
“EXCELLENT RESOURCE” The four-page brochure DSHS pro- duced as a result of HB 3374 satisfied Down syndrome advocates. The bro- chure informs parents that children with Down syndrome are “more like other children than they are different,” have a mild to moderate range of in- tellectual disability, and often attend
“regular schools in regular education classes with different levels of sup- port.” It assures parents that people with Down syndrome can “do all the things a typical person can do, includ- ing participate in sports and have a job.” Half of babies with Down syn- drome, the pamphlet cautions, will have health issues, such as heart or gastrointestinal conditions, feeding and digestive issues, and respiratory infections. Vilma Luna, a former state rep-
resentative and a registered lobby- ist who worked on HB 3374, says the measure helps provide consistency across the state in the information families receive, whether a parent
September 2016 TEXAS MEDICINE 39
Texas physicians can now e-prescribe schedule II-V controlled substances
Need an easier way to monitor patient use
of controlled substances?
ePCS monitoring can help protect patients from dangerous unnoticed increased use of opioid.
Of course I can give you a few Hydrocodone.I’ve got extra!
Electronically prescribing controlled substances (ePCS) increases patient safety and reduces: • Problems with patient adherence • Over-prescribing of medications • Doctor shopping to fill duplicate prescriptions • Theft, alteration and forging of paper pads • Physician and patient inconvenience
85% of Texas Pharmacies accept ePCS To learn more visit
http://healthit.hhsc.texas.gov/epcs-tma
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