QuickInfo
Nov. 14, 2006

TAFP's QuickInfo is designed to deliver news and information as needed to members of the Texas Academy of Family Physicians.

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Texas Academy of
Family Physicians
12012 Technology Blvd.
Suite 200
Austin, Texas 78727
p (512) 329-8666
f (512) 329-8237
www.tafp.org

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CME Opportunities

C. Frank Webber Lectureship

Join TAFP for the 2007 C. Frank Webber Lectureship in Austin, Texas March 2, 2007. Earn CME hours and participate in Interim Session activities. To register online, click here.

Member Resources

Handy Forms

TAFP has assembled a list of forms that you can download or print out for use in your practice, including Worker's Comp, advanced directives and more! Click here to see what we have to offer.

www.tafp.org

CAPITOL UPDATE:

Get your red-hot legislative news at www.tafp.org

This legislative session, the TAFP Communications Department wants to keep you in the know about all of the goings-on at the pink dome. Each Friday during the 80th Legislative Session, we’ll post a new Capitol Update on the front page of TAFP’s Web site in the “News Update” section. Below is the update we posted Friday, Jan. 19, 2007.

Wintery blast cools activity in Austin

Icy weather dominated the news in Austin this week as Central Texas got its first real taste of winter. The cold and ice forced planners to move Gov. Rick Perry’s inauguration ceremony from the Capitol steps to the House Chamber. The parade was cancelled, but the inaugural ball went on as planned.

While debate over rules and procedures kept the House busy, the Senate got a quick start as Lieutenant Gov. David Dewhurst announced his standing committee appointments at the end of last week. In his statement, he said, “It was important to me to get the Senate organized and moving forward by appointing committees by the end of the first week of the session. After personally contacting all 31 senators late Friday evening, I thanked them in advance for the hard work they will put in over the course of the next five months for the people of Texas. I believe the lineup of these committees puts the right people in the right places to work toward making Texas a better place to live, grow a business and raise a family.”

Both the House and the Senate adjourned on Thursday to return to work Monday afternoon.

Sen. Hinojosa challenges governor to solve Texas’ health care crisis in op-ed

State Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, penned an op-ed that ran in some newspapers in the Valley entitled “What do Arnold Schwarzenegger and Eliot Spitzer Have That Rick Perry Needs?” The column lays out several reforms to consider, writing: “Without a comprehensive initiative to solve the health care crisis, Texas will not be able to sustain a healthy economy or build a future of progress and prosperity. Other states are moving forward with bold initiatives to reduce their uninsured. If Texas wants to remain an attractive place to do business, we should, too.”

Read the op-ed

State senator and family physician Bob Deuell files bill on flu vaccine distribution

Senator Bob Deuell, M.D., R-Greenville, has filed a bill family docs will want to keep an eye on. The bill, entitled “Priority for Health Care Providers in the Distribution of Influenza Vaccine,” would direct pharmaceutical manufacturers and wholesale distributors to give priority to physicians and other licensed health care providers authorized to administer flu vaccinations over retail establishments when filling orders for influenza vaccine. The bill would give the commissioner of Health and Human Services the power to adopt rules to enforce the directive.

Read the bill

Thanks to these Physicians of the Day

Before the ice shut down the Capitol, Doug Curran, M.D., Beverly Nuckols, M.D., T. David Greer, M.D., and Nilon Tallant, M.D., all served as the Physician of the Day at the State Capitol. For information on how you can join them during the session, contact Kate McCann at kmccann@tafp.org.

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OTHER NEWS:

TAFP needs you to complete the 2007 Educational
Needs Survey

Each year TAFP relies on the results of the Educational Needs Survey to know what topics our members need most and what they want in their educational programs. It is imperative to TAFP’s success in producing quality educational activities that all members take the online survey when it goes live on TAFP’s Web site on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2007. On that day, members will receive an e-mail containing a direct link to the survey, and shortly before or after, receive a reminder postcard in the mail. Members who complete the survey before March 1 will receive a $10 discount on the 2007 Annual Session and Scientific Assembly registration fee. TAFP appreciates your participation.

C. Frank Webber Lectureship syllabus to be offered
on CD only

Be sure to bring your laptops to the 2007 C. Frank Webber Lectureship in Austin. The syllabus for all CME programs will be offered on CD only. Also, make your hotel reservations at the Hilton Austin Airport and submit your registration early to get the best possible price on the conference before the early bird deadline on Feb. 15, 2007.

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Copyright 2006, Texas Academy of Family Physicians