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Buprenorphine and the elimination of the X-waiver

Tags: buprenorphine, opioid crisis

Monday, December 20, 2021 1:26:00 PM
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By Larry Kravitz, MD, Chris Allen, and Matthew Seghers

As primary care physicians, we all want to help end the opioid crisis. But the options for family physicians in this epidemic have been limited. Most of us are not addiction specialists. Most of us do not work in substance abuse rehab clinics. Within the traditional primary care clinic setup is the undercurrent of our daily struggles, as our patients succumb to progressive illness, and with that, often the emergence of chronic pain conditions. Tackling chronic pain can be one of the most vexing issues in medicine, and primary care is at the frontlines of handling these patients.
Statistics from the National Institute on Drug Abuse are staggering: Roughly 21-29% of patients prescribed opioids for chronic pain misuse them, between 8-12% of people using an opioid for chronic pain develop an opioid use disorder, and approximately 80% of people who use heroin first misused prescription opioids. COVID-19 only exacerbated opioid-related consequences, with several publications from prominent organizations such as the Journal of the American Medical Association and the American Medical Association outlining the harrowing spikes in both non-fatal and fatal overdoses. Texas has not been immune to these trends, as highlighted in a KHOU segment from December 2020 that describes a record-breaking number of calls to first responders for overdoses.
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Texas Physicians for Social Responsibility releases report on health and climate change

Tags: Texas Physicians for Social Responsibility, climate change, public health

Monday, November 22, 2021 4:12:00 PM
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By Samantha White

A new report on the disastrous health impacts of climate change was recently released by the Texas Physicians for Social Responsibility. The organization’s report, “Texas Climate 2040: How Climate Change Impacts the Health of Texans,” examines the various consequences of the climate crisis and the public health problems they create.
“Climate change is the greatest public health threat of our time,” said Dr. Lisa Doggett, a family physician and president of Texas PSR. “Urgent global action is needed to reduce its impact and mitigate its effects. We need a massive shift to renewable energy to protect the health and future of Texas families and communities.”
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Funded delegate spots and scholarships available for NCCL

Tags: NCCL, 2021, texas academy of family physicians, TAFP, delegate, alternate delegate

Tuesday, November 16, 2021 3:43:00 PM
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Each year, AAFP holds the National Conference of Constituency Leaders and Annual Chapter Leader Forum together in Kansas City, Missouri. NCCL representatives and ACLF attendees from across the nation gather to discuss various issues, suggest policies and programs to AAFP, and receive leadership training. In 2022, the conferences will be held April 28-30 and TAFP is looking for members to serve on the delegation or apply for scholarships to attend.
Texas Delegation to NCCL
Spots are available for 10 TAFP members to represent each of the five constituencies: new physicians (physicians who have been out of residency for seven years or fewer), women, minorities, international medical graduates, and LGBT physicians. TAFP reimburses up to $1,200 for expenses for each of the five delegate and five alternate delegates. In addition, TAFP offers two other opportunities to attend NCCL with funding. These scholarships will be awarded to one third-year resident and one minority physician.
Interested? Please fill out this form and send a current curriculum vitae to Kathy McCarthy at kmccarthy@tafp.org by Friday, Dec. 17, 2021.
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Time to triumph over the trials of burnout

Tags: Anticipate Joy, burnout

Tuesday, October 12, 2021 4:08:33 PM
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By Anticipate Joy

It all started with a dream. Maybe it was to make the world a better place. Maybe it was to save lives. Maybe it was to help others. Or maybe it was just to make a nice paycheck. Whatever it was, you had a dream of becoming a doctor, and you did it. Your dream came true! But unlike fairytales, achieving our dreams doesn’t always mean “happily ever after.” In fact, sometimes our dreams can seem nothing like how we always imagined they’d be.
One of the biggest problems physicians struggle with today is burnout. With 44% of doctors experiencing this issue and 96% of medical professionals believing burnout is a problem, there clearly needs to be something done about this topic. However, despite nearly half of doctors undergoing feelings of burnout, 40% of physicians are reluctant to seek out mental health treatment, and 41% of physicians choose to isolate themselves as a method of coping. These are things that will only lead to more difficulty for doctors, both in their work and in taking care of themselves. Here are some symptoms that might indicate you’re struggling with feeling burnt out.
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Texas Family Physician of the Year urges House committee to invest in rural primary care workforce

Tags: Adrian Billings, testimony, House Public Health Committee, border health

Thursday, October 7, 2021 3:20:00 PM
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By Jonathan Nelson

The House Public Health Committee of the Texas Legislature held a hearing this week focused on addressing health care access for communities along the Texas-Mexico border. TAFP’s Family Physician of the Year, Adrian Billings, MD, PhD, made the drive from his home in Alpine to Austin to provide his perspective on the great need for primary care investment in rural Texas.
“My work, although rewarding in so many ways, has been both exhausting and challenging because of the incredible need for care in my communities,” Billings told the committee. “Rural health care organizations such as critical access hospitals and rural clinics are like small football teams. We have very few, if any, additional staff on reserve sitting on the bench for relief. For example, our Alpine clinic today does not have a provider because I am here testifying.”
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Buprenorphine and the elimination of the X-waiver

Texas Physicians for Social Responsibility releases report on health and climate change

Funded delegate spots and scholarships available for NCCL

Time to triumph over the trials of burnout

Texas Family Physician of the Year urges House committee to invest in rural primary care workforce