Volume 116, Number 4 — April 2020
Cover Story: TMA Brings its Fite (pages 18-25)
Meet incoming TMA president Diana Fite, MD, who lives up to her last name when it comes to her dedication to easing the long list of frustrations plaguing today’s physicians: quality measures, electronic health records, prior authorizations, and low Medicaid pay, among others. By Joey Berlin
Back to the Heart (page 23)
Cancer survivor Lee Tomlinson offers his take on the importance of compassionate care. By Joey Berlin
In Defense of Public Health (pages 24-25)
Renowned vaccine researcher Peter Hotez, MD, discusses the re-emergence of preventable diseases By Sean Price
Law: Contract Dodge Rejected (pages 27-29)
An appeals court denies an arguably “absurd” free speech challenge to a cancer center’s debt-collection suit. By Joey Berlin
Education: Medical Student Debt (page 30)
History of Medicine: Desegregating Medicine (pages 32-35)
The late Edith Irby Jones, MD, broke barriers in all-white medical schools in the South and in her hometown of Houston. By Nancy Semin, PhD
Quality: Going Nowhere (pages 36-38)
Resignations from PTAC committee cast doubt on future of physician-created alternative payment models. By Joey Berlin
Quality: Seeking a Measure of Reason (pages 40-41)
TMA joins a collaborative that aims to standardize quality metrics. By Joey Berlin
Public Health: Bracing for the Big Ones (page 43-45)
Novel viruses like COVID-19 could be a tough test for Texas' public health system. By Sean Price
Vaccines (page 47)
Talk to Your Patients About: Cleanliness vs. Vaccines
Also in this issue:
Rounds, Deaths
Commentary: House of Delegates Goes Virtual
Back page: Mystery history