President's Message

Robert Hancock, DO, FACEP
TCEP President

TCEP President, Dr. Robert Hancock gives a quick update on COVID and TCEP activities.

© 2021 Texas Medical Association; Used with permission.

No Escape

COVID-19 continues to exacerbate physician burnout. But doctors say part of understanding and addressing the problem is not thinking of it as "burnout" at all.

Read the full story in the February 2021 issue of Texas Medicine magazine here: www.texmed.org/NoEscape

Dr. Greenberg & the Medicine Show

Stuart C. Pickell, MD, MDiv, FACP, FAAP wrote these lyrics to the music of Dr. Hook ( medicine show) and we thought they were great. Don't know about Dr. Hook? Click here for a refresher.

Great job Dr. Pickell in honoring Dr. Greenberg with your song!

TCEP Research Forum 2021 Will Be Held This Year

Although there is no TCEP Connect 2021, TCEP is hosting a virtual research forum.

Abstract submission due date 4/19/2021

Abstract acceptance/rejection sent out by 5/7/2021

Photo by Charles Fair on Unsplash

It's hard to believe that a month has passed since the 87th Texas Legislative Session began on January 12.

Though the Capitol halls and offices are quieter than usual this year, the Legislature has been busy. Our lobbyists at Imperium Public Affairs and I are communicating daily to keep our fingers on the pulse of the session, in order to best serve TCEP's members and their patients. Here's a brief rundown ...

Who was that Masked Man?

Traveling from Austin all the way to the Texas Panhandle, one masked TCEP member has hand delivered over 15,000 much-needed N95 masks to front line workers.

When TCEP acquired 300,000 N95 masks from the Texas Department of Emergency Medical Services, via TMA, the work to distribute them was daunting. Packing and shipping hundreds of cartons of masks became a critically important new task. In addition to shipping hundreds of cartons of masks, TCEP staff made several road trips to bring the masks to San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, Ft. Worth and Austin members. Fortunately, some members stepped up to take extra cartons, and gave out masks in their area, including Dr. Robert Greenberg, Dr. Robert Hancock, and Dr. Hemant Vankawala ...

Dr. Diana Fite's Journey as a Physician, Spouse and Mom

Former TCEP President, Dr. Diana Fite presented a very informative and interesting webinar for the TMA Auxiliary on her journey in medicine. Dr. Fite is the current TMA President and has been an extraordinary leader for the House of Medicine during COVID. If you have not had the opportunity to meet her, make that a goal for this year. We wanted to share her story with you: https://www.texmedalliance.org/tmaimis/TMAA/Events/Webinars/January_2021.aspx.

The best EM jobs are with US Acute Care Solutions! We offer full-time physicians and ownership opportunity, plus extensive benefits including 401(k). Search our available positions and locations to find your emergency medicine career with USACS at www.usacs.com/careers.

Many Texas Emergency Physicians have died in this past year. Our hearts are heavy and our thoughts are with their families, friends and colleagues:

Dr. Ken Adams – Ft Worth
Dr. Juan Fitz – Lubbock
Dr. Carl Gossett – Ft. Worth
Dr. John Gomez – Argyle
Dr. James Hunderup – Galveston
Dr. Terry Letsinger – Montgomery
Dr. Craig Manifold – Helotes
Dr. Dennis Plante – Waco
Dr. Ed Thornton – Denton

Gottlieb is an industry leader in end-to-end Revenue Cycle Management and Practice Optimization solutions for hospital and independent physician groups, specializing in Emergency Medicine and Hospitalist practices. Gottlieb helps their clients navigate the complex healthcare landscape by designing innovative and technology-enabled services that simplify and improve the financial experience.

TCEP Update

The TCEP Board of Directors met virtually January 30, 2021. Here are some notes and action items:

Legislative report: See lelgislative update from Dr. Tran
Annual Business meeting: The Board approved holding a hybrid annual meeting on Saturday June 26 at the TMA building along with the Board meeting afterward. All voting will be done online ...

Resources and Benefits

Being an emergency physician is already hard, but the COVID-19 crisis presents brand new concerns. The virus has ripple effects that extend to your family, your finances, your career and your future. Because each day presents a new challenge, let us help you find the right support.

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We know that seeing patients and providing excellent care is your primary goal. And we work hard to find new ways to support you. Contact us today to learn more about what TMLT can do for you at 800-580-8658 or www.tmlt.org.

TMLT - protection for a new era of medicine.

Legal Update

FDA Places Additional Burdens and Liability On Opioid Prescirbers

Kenneth Alan Totz, DO, JD, FACEP

On July 23, 2020 the FDA issued the following notice on their website: "FDA recommends health care professionals discuss naloxone with all patients when prescribing opioid pain relievers or medicines to treat opioid use disorder." The guidelines were prompted by the 450,000 opioid overdose deaths from 1999 to 2018, including nearly 47,000 deaths in 2018 alone ...

Calendar of Events

Residency Visit

TCEP Board of Directors meeting

Residency Visit

TexMed 2021

Residency Visit

TCEP Board of Directors meeting

ACEP Leadership & Advocacy Conference

*TCEP CONNECT 2021 Update*
The TCEP Board of Directors held a virtual Board meeting on January 30th. After much discussion, Connect 2021 will not take place. However, the annual business meeting will be held on Saturday, June 26th as a hybrid event.

There were many reasons for this decision including the well-being of our members and communities, as well as the constantly changing circumstances surrounding COVID-19 and vaccine rollouts. We will soon begin planning for Connect 2022, and guarantee it'll be an event you won't want to miss!

Make sure you're following all our TCEP social media accounts and website for updated information and resources