Contents tagged with youens
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Report on the 2013 C. Frank Webber Lectureship
Report on the 2013 C. Frank Webber Lectureship
Family physicians gather in Austin for annual lectureship and interim session
posted 03.06.13
Over 400 physicians, residents, and medical … more
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Legislative Budget Board partially reverses physician pay cut for dual-eligibles
Legislative Budget Board partially reverses physician pay cut for dual-eligibles
posted 12.18.12
After months of rallies, lobbying, and meetings, the Legislative Budget Board has directed the … more
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Seeking a system that respects the patient-physician relationship
By Robert Youens, M.D., M.M.M.
TAFP President, 2008-2009Recently in a neighboring community to mine with practicing family physicians, a hospital, surgeons, obstetrical care, ER coverage and multiple visiting specialists, two interesting developments have occurred. First, a new clinic has opened with a $1 million grant and the backing of the local community and a citizen champion. The plan is to have it qualify as a Federally Qualified Health Center “look-alike” that will allow it to receive Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement at significantly higher levels than the locally practicing physicians. This clinic is able to see any patient: Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance or private pay. Incidentally, the guiding force behind the clinic says they currently have a nurse practitioner and a “family practice” doctor, but he wants to get a pediatrician because his primary reason for starting the clinic is to help children.
Second, with the help of local and federal politicians, a Veterans Administration clinic is to open this summer to care for veterans in the area who need their services, thus decreasing travel distances to a more remote VA clinic. This clinic was awarded on a bid contract to a company who apparently does this in other places and is to be staffed by various ancillary personnel hired for the business as well as a general practitioner from the area.
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Managing our practices as well as our patients
By Robert Youens, M.D., M.M.M.
TAFP President, 2008-2009Hello again. This quarter’s missive is intended to provoke thought about family physicians’ position in the health care landscape of the future. My original intent was going to be to discuss little vs. big in the ideal provision of health care, making an argument that personal attention from a personal physician in a small practice environment is superior to attention from a team in a large bureaucratic institution. I’ll probably always feel this way but instead have some ideas to share about what the future may hold for our specialty and profession.
Throughout my career I have embraced the business of medicine and my fundamental belief that if we go out of business, we can’t provide care. It is also true that to manage a medical practice and achieve this outcome, someone must be in charge. It is my contention that the physician should be this someone.
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The secret to better health care
By Robert Youens, M.D.
TAFP President, 2008-2009Hello, my colleagues. I have this bully pulpit for the next three quarters and intend to use it tastefully to express my opinion about the state of our affairs. So, here we go.
We are fortunate to be practicing the most fundamentally pure and satisfying medical specialty there is. Ours is a specialty of science and understanding, of the head and the heart, and of the definable episode and caring continuity.
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Rewards and challenges of family medicine
From the inaugural address of TAFP’s new president
By Robert Youens, M.D.
TAFP President, 2008-2009I’m a board-certified, residency-trained family physician starting my 30th year of practice in Weimar, Texas. My grandfather started practicing in my community 100 years ago and my father started 60 years ago. Sometimes I feel that I am simply a continuation of that one spirit. I love what I do. I love what our specialty does and I embrace its uniqueness. The longer I am at this business the more I realize how our particular brand of medicine is what’s best for all patients. Our holistic approach to the treatment of our patients continues to make us the best specialty on which to found a health care system. As the president of TAFP, I will continue our efforts to reinforce the truths that have been known to us and proven by repeated studies that family medicine delivers better outcomes at lower cost. We will continue to actively participate in any arena that will allow us to promote and support our proper place in the health care of our nation.
We need to be properly paid for what we do and TAFP will be there for any effort, including defining a medical home, that will get this done.
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