EMphasis Newsletter - August 2024

AUGUST 2024

President's Message

“A rock feels no pain, and an island never cries.” - Paul Simon

On occasion I find myself wondering why we subject ourselves to the stress and increasing number of difficult shifts that the ED throws at us. Now well into the latter half of my career, I sometimes think, “can I continue to do this?” More recent grads may wonder “did I make the right decision?” Mid-career docs may think, “can I do this for another 20+ years?”

I respond to these thoughts by reminding myself of why I went into medicine, and specifically EM, in the first place. Like many, I liked the fast pace, the ability to make a difference in a patient's life in such a small amount of time, as well as the diversity of presentations and pathology. I knew I wanted to use science to help people in a deeply personal way and admired the nobility of a career in medicine. (Secretly I may have wanted to be Doug Ross from “ER”, although unfortunately, and no offense to Anthony Edwards, my likeness is much more akin to that of Mark Green than any character played by George Clooney. Oh well...) READ MORE

Doug Jeffrey, MD, FACEP
TCEP President

TCEP Board in Action

Last month, the TCEP Board of Directors and TLAF fellows convened in Austin to discuss membership engagement, legislative strategy, upcoming programs, and other key initiatives. In addition, we hosted a Networking Reception for members from Austin and nearby areas. Check out your board in action!

Pay Your Membership Dues through ACH Transfer

ACEP now offers the option to pay your membership dues through direct ACH transfers, or electronic checks. ACH transfers are electronic, bank-to-bank transfers processed through the ACH Network. This option makes renewals seamless and saves money for the chapter by reducing credit card fees, allowing more funds to be directed towards advocacy and member benefits.

New and renewing members can choose ACH on the membership application, and those using installments or auto-renew can update their payment information in the Payment Methods section of My Account on ACEP's website.

GETAC: Call for Committee Applications

The Governor’s EMS and Trauma Advisory Council (GETAC) has ten committees that review important issues and provide recommendations to GETAC, which advises the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS).

Committees include Air Medical and Specialty Care Transport, Cardiac Care, Disaster Preparedness and Response, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), EMS Education, EMS Medical Directors, Injury Prevention and Public Education, Pediatrics, Stroke, and Trauma Systems.

Applications for the 2025 committees will be accepted from September 1 - 30, 2024. For more information, visit the GETAC webpage.

Legislative Update

The State Budget Process Beginning
Texas is in the initial phases of preparing its state budget for the next biennium. In the year before each regular session of the Texas Legislature, state agencies prepare detailed Legislative Appropriations Requests (LARs) under the guidelines of the Legislative Budget Board (LBB), itemizing their funding needs and performance measures. These LARs are submitted by late summer or early fall to the LBB, the Comptroller's office, and other state agencies. The LBB and the Governor's Office of Budget, Planning and Policy hold hearings on their content.

CMS Incorporates Age-Friendly Hospital Measure in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) Rule

Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized the introduction of the Age-Friendly Hospital Measure as part of the fiscal year (FY) 2025 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) rule.

This measure, developed by ACEP in partnership with the American College of Surgeons and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, clarifies goals for those who work with older patients and incorporates important aspects of the ACEP Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation (GEDA) framework into care delivery.

A hospital’s score on the Age-Friendly Hospital measure is based on attestations across five domains. ACEP encouraged CMS to include attestations to reduce boarding in the emergency department and screen for risk factors related to social determinants of health, among others. READ MORE

ADVOCACY ALERT: Urge Congress to Stop Medicare Cuts

Once again, physicians and other providers will face yet another cut to Medicare reimbursements, further destabilizing our already fragile health care safety net.

If this 2.8% cut is implemented on January 1, 2025, it will mark the fifth consecutive year of reductions in Medicare physician payments – continuing an untenable course when your emergency departments across the country are already struggling under the severe strain of the boarding crisis.

For decades, Medicare physician reimbursements have failed to keep up with inflation, despite other Medicare participants receiving annual inflationary updates. Rather than face a yearly scramble to address steep payment cuts, we need your help to urge Congress to work with us and other stakeholders to swiftly identify policy solutions that will provide long-term stability for Medicare beneficiaries and the physicians who manage and provide their health care.

TAKE ACTION!

Medical Student Committee News

My name is Katherine Young, and I am honored to be serving my second year as the MSC Secretary-Editor. Along with the rest of the MSC, I am excited to give you an update on what we've been up to so far.

Although the weather doesn't quite show it yet, summer is winding down and we inch nearer and nearer to application and interview season for the class of 2025. As my fellow fourth year medical students and I make our way through this season of sub-internships, the TCEP MSC's Meet the Program series provides another avenue for students to learn about the fantastic emergency residency programs here in Texas. We have partnered with nearly every program in Texas to hold informal, virtual, hour-long sessions during which students can meet and interact with representatives from each program. READ MORE

UIWSOM Students Collaborate to Provide A1c Screening for First Responders

To promote health and safety in the local community, the University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine (UIWSOM) Emergency Medicine Interest Group (EMIG) recently partnered with the Dermatology Interest Group (DIG) to provide crucial hemoglobin A1c screenings for the active and retired San Antonio firefighters and EMS departments (SAFD) at the SAFD health fair. This collaborative event highlighted the power of taking care of healthcare into one's own hands and the vital role of education in managing chronic conditions.

Building off the success of previous years fairs with skin cancer screenings and health information booths, DIG aimed to provide even more screenings and health care education to these brave individuals. READ MORE