“Give physicians from all regions and backgrounds a chance to share their ideas, and you’ll be surprised by how many solutions we can find for our most frustrating issues.”
Needville family medicine physician Art Klawitter, MD, shared that sentiment with Texas Medical Association leadership during its 2024 Listening Tour this year.
“You don’t have to reinvent the wheel,” he told Texas Medicine.
Which is why he was pleased to hear about a planned uptick in regional conferences hosted by TMA. The move responds to a need he and others noted throughout the tour for increased local involvement among both area physicians and county medical societies.
TMA hosts conferences around the state for its members to increase local engagement, provide hyper-focused educational resources, and foster connections across the region.
This year, what was formerly TMA’s Fall Conference was adapted to became one of the first of the association’s scheduled gatherings to take place outside of the Austin metro area, following precedent set by the association’s annual traveling TexMed conference.
The newly dubbed Business of Medicine Conference, which took place in San Antonio, provided a comprehensive overview of practice operations and health care administration, including how to manage personal finances, mitigate payment issues, and other helpful resources. This year, the conference offered a multitude of CME focused on artificial intelligence, practice marketing, the corporate practice of medicine, and other subjects, alongside TMA committee and council meetings.
Odessa allergist Vivek Rao, MD, who attended one of the live, intensive panels, “Ask the Expert: The Business of Personal Finance,” praised TMA for providing robust practice help for physicians in all stages of their careers. The panel gave answers to physicians looking to plan for retirement or learn how to invest wisely, among other strategies.
“It is great that TMA offered this opportunity for folks to hear from experts,” said Dr. Rao, an alternate delegate to the Texas Delegation to American Medical Association.
TexMed, TMA’s largest annual event, brings members together to network with physician leaders, explore CME, and enjoy keynote presentations. It is also where TMA’s House of Delegates holds sessions to develop relevant policy that benefits Texas physicians and patients.
In 2025, the association will continue to host a series of regional conferences and community health and outreach programs, sponsored by TMA and in collaboration with county medical societies across Texas.
Lena Banks, TMA’s vice president of member experience and business intelligence, says following TMA’s 2025 TexMed conference, to be hosted in San Antonio, the association will offer both a Leadership Summit and a regional conference in the fall of 2025. These events will be hosted in El Paso and Tyler, respectively.
The addition of regional events is a permanent change for TMA. Ms. Banks says the association will host regional conferences each year moving forward, with locations to be decided. Meanwhile, TMA will host either a Leadership Summit or Business of Medicine Conference every year, alternating between the events each year.
“These [regional conferences] are a continuation of our focus to meet the needs of our members,” she said. “What regional resources do these physicians need? What are they interested in discussing? What are their local pain points? And then, how can TMA help?”
Last Updated On
November 27, 2024
Originally Published On
November 14, 2024
Alisa Pierce
Reporter, Division of Communications and Marketing
(512) 370-1469