Pain physicians from across the state met at the Capitol in Austin, in order to spread awareness of pain medicine topics to policymakers in Texas.
On March 23, Texas Pain Society members traveled from all over the state to meet with legislators and discuss issues relevant to pain medicine.
The participants were:
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C.M. Schade, M.D. of Advanced Pain Solutions
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Lakshmi Koyyalagunta, M.D. of MD Anderson Cancer Center
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Mitchell Engle, M.D., Ph.D. of Institute Of Precision Pain Medicine
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Tim Zoys, M.D. of Pain Diagnostics and Treatment Center
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Gulshan Doulatram, M.D. of The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
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Obinna Uzodinma, M.D.
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Allen Dennis, M.D., M.S. of Advanced Pain Care
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Boa Vinh of Cy-Pain & Spine
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Ralph Menard, M.D. of HCM Medical Group
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Todd Wages of TheraNow
The Capitol visits included:
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the offices of Representatives Venton Jones, Ann Johnson, Ellen Troxclair, Tony Tinderholt, Erin Zwiener, and Victoria Neave Criado
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staffs of Senators Brandon Creighton and Morgan LaMantia
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the Senate Committee on Health & Human Services chair, Senator Lois Kolkhorst
Some of the important initiatives discussed were:
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education on THC and best practices for Texas, learned from other states (which will be a focus during this week’s CME webinar)
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opioid-related deaths due to illegally manufactured fentanyl
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emoji hip sheets, as younger people are purchasing illegal drugs on social media with emojis
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the legalization of fentanyl testing strips
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the funding of integration of the Prescription Monitoring Program with EHRs
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over-the-counter Naloxone approved by the FDA
Those wanting to learn more can find copies of the day’s materials under the TPS member-only section of the website. Be sure to register for our upcoming continuing medical education events, as well, and follow us on LinkedIn/Twitter for regular society and industry updates.
