Contents tagged with hurley
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TAFP members appointed to AAFP commissions
TAFP members appointed to AAFP commissions
By Samantha White
Three TAFP members were appointed earlier this month to various AAFP commissions. Their terms will run through the end of 2024, with … more
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The health care zombie apocalypse
By Janet Hurley, MD
There was once a time when I believed that organized medicine would play a major role in creating a sustainable health care product for our nation. Admittedly our organized medicine leaders have a lot of great ideas, many excellent skills, good relationships with lawmakers, and brilliant expertise. However I learned with sadness as time progressed that the dysfunctions in Washington, D.C., and Austin are unlikely to lead to substantive health care changes. While our organized medical societies give wise advice, our lawmakers are not always listening.
I then turned my energies to the private sector and focused my leadership on a large integrated health care system that emphasized and respected high-value primary care. I had hoped that these kinds of systems could leverage their medical homes, medical neighborhoods, and IT systems to more optimally coordinate care and reduce waste. Yet once I entered that world, I became aware of the massive regulatory burden facing our hospitals today. The relentless push to become a Joint Commission-accredited, “high reliability organization” with “zero harm” is commendable, yet requires the hiring of multiple levels of safety officers, nursing leaders, and administrative leaders, and the development of many more “clicks” in the electronic medical record that leads to massive nurse burnout rates in our country.
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Accepting the maybe
By Janet Hurley, MD
In my leadership duties for the Texas Academy of Family Physicians and within my personal job as family physician and operational chief of primary care for Trinity Mother Frances Health System, I continue to see pockets of skepticism, frustration, and fear among my primary care physician colleagues. In some of my most difficult assignments, I have felt that the greatest barrier occurs when some physicians go straight to the negative with their thoughts as we begin discussions.
Our specialty is rife with physicians that go straight to the negative. When we consider the high rates of physician burnout in our country we begin to understand why this is true. Primary care physicians have felt overworked and underpaid for quite some time. The current fee-for-service payment system has created inefficient patient management practices that prevent care for simple conditions over the phone, lead to unnecessary follow-up appointments, and encourage physicians to pack more patients into their clinic day to generate volume. Transitioning these practices to a value-based payment world is truly a challenge.
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Family medicine thrives in The Woodlands
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Family medicine thrives in The Woodlands
Report from TAFP’s 2015 Annual Session and Primary Care Summit
Family physicians and other health professionals from around the state … more
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Member of the Month: Janet Hurley, MD
Member of the Month: Janet Hurley, MD
TAFP officer sees importance of caring for entire community
posted 10.13.15
TAFP Vice President Janet Hurley, MD, practices in a small East Texas town, … more
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Janet Hurley, MD - Opportunity knocks
Janet Hurley, MD, cares for patients in Whitehouse, a rural community in East Texas. Her small practice is part of a clinically integrated system. She says opportunities abound for family … more
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Highlights from TAFP’s Interim Session, March 5-7, 2015
Highlights from TAFP’s Interim Session, March 5-7, 2015
Advocating for you and your patients With the Legislature in session, there was extensive discussion about GME funding, Medicaid, scope of … more
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Family physicians embracing change
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Highlights from TAFP's Annual Session, July 23-27, 2014
Highlights from TAFP’s Annual Session, July 23-27, 2014
The committees, commissions, and sections of the Texas Academy of Family Physicians met in San Antonio and deliberated on many important … more
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Let’s be bold for family medicine
By Janet Hurley, M.D.
It’s time for boldness in family medicine. As I turned to hug Jim Martin, M.D., at the last TAFP C. Frank Webber Lectureship, I was touched by his heartfelt concern. He and other dedicated leaders before me have endeavored to set the stage for family medicine to have its time in the spotlight. Yet many family physicians do not seem willing to demonstrate the leadership skills or “fire in the belly” during this pivotal time of health care change.
In the past, family physicians were seen as feeder mechanisms for the procedural and hospital cash machine. We were disrespected in the academic centers and our value was minimized by payers and the Relative Value Scale Update Committee. Specialists desired our referrals for lucrative procedures that are reimbursed under an inflated fee-for-service price. The hospitals have been hiring family physicians to ensure referral sources to their admission beds, imaging centers, and operating rooms. But the day of reckoning is coming for that payment methodology.
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