Physician Resources

Please click on the topics below to access information, materials, and resources for each of the following subjects:

Articles:

The National Academy of State Health Policy and The Commonwealth Fund has issued the report, Improving the Delivery of Health Care that Supports Young Children's Healthy Mental Development: Update on Accomplishments and Lessons from a Five-State Consortium. The Commonwealth Fund provided grant money to NASHP to implement pilot programs in five states to test ways to improve mental health services for children.; This report updates information on the results of those pilots.

Autism:

Healing Thresholds is a website dedicated to surveying the scientific literature for peer-reviewed studies on autism therapies. Please visit their website at http://autism.healingthresholds.com/ to see a summary of the contents of these papers or to sign up for weekly eBriefs.

CATCH - Community Access to Child Health

CATCH is a national program of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) designed to improve access to health care through community-based efforts. The program began in 1991 and receives funding from a variety of sources.

The mission of CATCH is to support pediatricians who work with communities to ensure that all children have medical homes and access to other needed health caservices. To achieve this goal, the CATCH Program provides pediatricians with training, technical assistance, peer support, networking opportunities, and funding opportunities for project development.

For more information on CATCH, grant funding, and projects that have been previously awarded funding, please click here..

Child Abuse:

• Medical Evaluation of Sexual Abuse Manual
• TPS Sexual Abuse Protocol
• TPS Version of Inpatient Clinical Practice Guideline for Child Abuse

Disease Reporting/Notifiable Conditions

The Disease Reporting/Notifiable Conditions page of the DSHS web site is a handy reference for physicians. The page includes notifiable conditions, investigation and surveillance forms, reporting forms, epi case criteria, CDC case definitions, antibiotic resistant isolate, blood lead level reporting, cancer reporting, contaminated sharps injury, electronic reporting (NEDSS), HIV/STD reporting, laboratory reporting, and TB forms. Please click on the links above to access information on a particular topic or vist the website at: http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/idcu/investigation/conditions/default.asp.

Please click on the links above to access information on a particular topic or vist the website at:

http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/idcu/investigation/conditions/default.asp.

Early Hearing Detection and Intervention:

• Amplification, Implants, and FM Systems for Infants & Young Children with Hearing Loss
• Genetics of Early Childhood Hearing Loss The Facts
• Beyond Newborn Hearing Screening:Recognizing the Signs of Late Onset Hearing Loss in Infants and Young Children

Forms:

• C-33 Form (immunization changes on TVFC)
• Statewide ECI Referral Form
• Doctors. Saving Lives. Patient Safety Resources Order Form

Infectious Disease:

The Texas Pediatric Society Infectious Diseases Committee is pleased to provide information on respiratory viral surveillance in children in our state.  This information will be updated in real time, with about a one to three week lag, every two weeks from September through April.  The graphs shows RSV, Influenza A, and Influenza B activity for this season as well as data from the last several seasons going back to 2004-2005. 

RSV activity is shown by number of test performed, number of tests positive, and the percent of tests positive.  A line indicates a cutoff of 10% for the percent positive RSV tests.  The CDC definition of the start of the RSV season is the first of 2 consecutive weeks with greater than 10% positive tests.  The definition of the end of the RSV season is the last of 2 consecutive weeks with over 10% positive tests. 

This information is submitted by an increasing numbers of clinical microbiology labs that serve large numbers of children around the state.  This began as a voluntary unfunded program with the Centers for Disease Control, Texas Department of State Health Services, and the Texas Pediatric Society with 8 labs representing larger pediatric centers around the state.  It expanded with the addition of many more hospital laboratories with some support from MedImmune, via SDI.  All of this data is combined at the CDC, in the NREVSS database.  It is returned to us to clean up and present.  The sites are grouped into regions and the data from those areas are combined.  A list of the current sites and their grouping is provided.  This was done for several years by Diana Newton and Dr. Don Murphey at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth.  It is now done by Ms. Lesley Bullion at DSHS in Austin with assistance by Dr. Murphey and the TPS Infectious Disease Committee members.  If you have questions about the project contact Dr. Don Murphey at dmurphey@cookchildrens.org, 682-885-1485.

View RSV Data Charts If you would like to receive Texas RSV activity reports directly by email, please contact Laura Blanke, MPH, Practice Education Manager.

For additional respiratory viral surveillance information see the websites listed below: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/fluactivity.htm http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/idcu/disease/influenza/surveillance/2009/ http://www.flustar.com/ Medical Education:

CME Opportunities

Newborn Screening:

• Major Insurers to Cover Higher Newborn Screening Fee
• The Department of State Health Services (DSHS) has begun screening newborns for 27 genetic disorders with an additional screen beginning February 5, 2007. DSHS and the Newborn Screening program have developed a Newborn Screening Online Training Module which is now available. The Module includes information on the program's expansion. There is no fee for taking the online module and continuing education units are available. The module can be accessed at: http://txhealthsteps.com/

Obesity:

Patient Safety:

• Doctors. Saving Lives. Campaign
• TheLearn the Signs. Act Early campaign has developed a free resource kit of materials on child development and autism for day care providers and teachers to share with parents of children in their care. The Child Care Provider Resource Kit, along with resources for parents and pediatricians, are available for free at http://www.cdc.gov/actearly
• The Texas Academy of Family Physicians has recently teamed up with the Texas Department of State Health Services to bring Tar Wars to Texas. This vital program has helped many kids stay tobacco-free through its innovative and interactive lesson plan in elementary schools throughout Texas and the U.S. Tar Wars invites doctors, dentists, nurse practitioners, students/ residents and other community health advocates to present a one-time, one-hour scripted and interactive lesson plan to 4th and 5th graders to discourage youth taobacco use. Since its inception in 1988, Tar Wars has reached over 7 million kids worldwide. More information and a place to sign-up as a presenter is available at www.tafp.org/tarwars

Safe Sleep Environment:

• Position Statement: Safe Sleep for Infants - Texas State Child Fatality Review Team Committee
• A Parents’ Guide to Safe Sleep - American Academy of Pediatrics
• Consumer Product Safety Alert: Crib Sheets- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
• Crib Safety Tips (English)- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
• Crib Safety Tips (Spanish)- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
• AAP Talking Points on Vaccine Reimbursement

Velocardialfacial Syndrome:

SB 1612 was passed in 2009 to increase awareness of Velocarardialfacial Syndrome(a.k.a. DiGeorge or 22q11.2 deletion) in Texas. As a result parents whose children are receiving services for developmental delays through the state’s Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) programs may be contacting their pediatricians to ask whether their child may need genetic testing for the 22q11.2 deletion. For more information, please visit: http://www.txpeds.org/sites/txpeds.org/files/documents/vcfs.pdf.

Miscellaneous Information:

• Advocacy
• Practice Management
• Office Managers Section
• The Texas Department of State Health Services has contracted with The Litaker Group to create a five-year strategic vision for a health system approach to public health preparedness.  This project will identify the health and medical preparedness capabilities that Texas should strive for by the year 2010.  For more information on the project, and how you can contribute, please go tohttp://www.txhps.com/

  Texas Physician Education Loan Repayment Program

  The 81st Texas Legislature passed a bill creating a new physician loan repayment program that will pay up to $160,000 to physicians who agree to practice for four years in primary care Health Professional Shortage Areas, many of which are located in rural communities as well as urban centers.

  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board approved the final rules in October 2009. This page will be updated as the program is implemented. Please note that official information about the program can be accessed through the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board or the Texas Department of State Health Services

• The Health Resources and Services Administration is now accepting new applications to support loan repayment for bonafide educational debt for primary care medical, dental and certain behavioral/mental health clinicians who want to work at National Health Service Corps (NHSC) sites. In exchange for the loan repayment assistance, clinicians serve for two years with the Corps. The new funds, totaling almost $200 million, are expected to support about 3,300 clinicians that will serve in health centers, rural health clinics and other health outpatient/ambulatory care sites that care for uninsured and underserved people.

Resource Links

• http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/default.shtm
• http://nhsc.hrsa.gov/
  Information provided by
• Texas Academy of Family Physicians