The Doctor is In ... Eventually
State health officials are considering lifting a requirement that Texas emergency rooms have a physician on-site at all times — as long as one can get there within 30 minutes. Full Story
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The latest health care news from The Texas Tribune.
State health officials are considering lifting a requirement that Texas emergency rooms have a physician on-site at all times — as long as one can get there within 30 minutes. Full Story
Representatives from medical schools and the Seton hospital network were in Austin this week to talk about increasing education opportunities in Texas. The meeting with civic and business leaders focused on expanding graduate school capacity — with the hope it could increase healthcare access in Central Texas. But a shortage of medical care could have a far reaching effect on the state’s economy — in a very unexpected way. Ben Philpott is reporting for KUT News and the Texas Tribune. Full Story
Should Texas medical schools be responsible for relieving the state’s primary care shortage? Advocates for family physicians think so. They want state lawmakers to reward medical schools that groom young doctors for family medicine — and penalize those that don’t. Full Story
Marjan Bolouri, a Dallas native and Baylor College of Medicine graduate, decided to do her residency in radiology at UC-San Francisco. In an interview on Texas' primary care shortage, she discusses whether she ever considered family medicine — or will return to practice in Texas. Full Story
Removals of Texas children from abusive homes have reached their highest point since the 2008 polygamist sect raid, when hundreds were taken into custody in a single day. Full Story
Balancing the next state budget may be more a political exercise than a technical one. Full Story
Things are picking up. Full Story
Multi-part stories from Ramshaw and Grissom and Stiles on mental health services for detained immigrants and on payday lenders who provide exorbitantly priced credit to people with nowhere else to turn... Twitter, word clouds and the race for governor — a Stiles joint... Farouk Shami is in and Hu was there to watch... Philpott went to Bastrop for a gather of Republican governors... Rapoport finds a State Board of Education that's trying to control itself... and we have the skinny on legislative races that are likely to be competitive (only about 5 percent of the races on the ballot). It's the best of The Texas Tribune from November 14 to 20, 2009. Full Story
As lawmakers in D.C. hammer out a health care reform bill, physician-owned specialty hospitals — a quarter of which are in Texas — face an uncertain fate. Full Story
Texas Institute for Surgery President Debbie Hay and Dan Waldmann, Tenet Healthcare's vice president for government relations, offer competing views on proposed restrictions on physician-owned specialty hospitals. Full Story
Speaker Joe Straus has given committees their assignments for the next year. Full Story
Andre Osborne was so over-medicated in the Willacy Immigration Detention Center that he fell off of the top bunk of his bed, badly injuring his face and eyes. Full Story
Will there be enough money to cover the current state budget? "Fortunately, it's too early to tell," jokes House Speaker Joe Straus. He and other state leaders are well aware of the numbers, and although they think it's not yet time to act, they're focused on the big question. Full Story
The federal Medicaid program designed to help disabled and elderly residents of institutions move back into the community hasn’t even gotten close to meeting its early goals, despite Texas' efforts. Full Story
"Barely adequate." "Haphazard at best." That's how investigators describe the quality of care at immigrant detention centers all over Texas. Full Story
Amid handwringing over child obesity, SBOE likely will eliminate health and physical education requirements at this week's meeting. Full Story
Lobbyists spent a record $15 million on advertising during the 2005 session and another $12 million in 2007 — but less than $1 million this year. What happened? Full Story
The physically disabled and suicidal detainee was put in an isolated cell without her crutches. She was strip-searched and denied feminine products. For days, she slid around on the floor, covering herself and the cell in menstrual blood. When inspectors came out to investigate, they found a facility poorly equipped to provide mental health treatment to its 1,500 detainees. Full Story
I must put what's best for my campaign aside and do what is best for Texas. That is why I must stay in the Senate while running for the Republican nomination for governor. I cannot walk away while this fight is being fought by our fellow Republicans. I must stay and fight with them. Full Story
U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison talks the Texas economy, the latest Rasmussen poll and her resignation timetable. Watch the full exchange with reporters Friday morning. Full Story