TSA Newsletter - Spring 2012

TSA BOARD OF DIRECTORS SUMMARY OF ACTIONS JANUARY 21, 2012

  1. Appointed an Ad-Hoc Committee to investigate the need for a second TSA Legislative Consultant.
    If the Committee determines that a second consultant is needed, the Committee was charged
    with the selection of the new consultant. Members of the Ad-Hoc Committee are Drs. N. Martin
    Giesecke, Chair, David F. Gloyna, Scott A. Lindberg, James P. McMichael and Sherif Z. Zaafran.
  2. Applauded and thanked Dr. Kyle L. Janek for his service to the Society.
  3. Approved nomination of Dr. N. Martin Giesecke for a position on the American Board of
    Anesthesiology Board of Directors.
  4. Appointed Drs. Catherine L. Scholl and Deborah L. Creath to investigate the probability of the
    TSA establishing a process patterned after the ASA Flowerdew Report.
  5. Approved proposed criteria for the William H. King Resident Advocacy Award and motion to
    increase the resident support budget line by $3000. Eligibility for the award will require enrollment
    in a Texas anesthesiology residency program; membership with the TSA and ASA; and evidence
    of the applicant’s legislative and political activity. Applicants must submit a CV which includes
    all advocacy activities and a thousand (1000) word essay on advocacy. The Award will include a
    plaque for the resident and one for their program to be presented at the TSA Annual Meeting;
    all-expense paid trips to the TSA Anesthesiologists Day and the ASA Legislative Conference
    that follow the presentation of the Award; and appointment to the TSA Governmental Affairs
    Committee.
  6. Charged Dr. John S. Scott, Jr., with submitting a proposal to the TSA Education Committee
    concerning the possibility of establishing an ultrasound society.
  7. Approved motion to provide a 4% bonus to the TSA staff .
  8. Approved a registration fee of $50 for Anesthesia Administrators of Texas members who attend
    the TSA Practice Management Conference.
  9. Approved the proposed resolution to the ASA with regard to Electronic Medical Reports as
    drafted by Dr. A. Jacky Ralston. Charged Dr. Scott E. Kercheville with submitting the resolution
    to the ASA Electronic Media & Information Technology Committee (EMIT) for their review and
    consideration, and with reporting back to the Board in May with the EMIT’s comments.
  10. Noted that Drs. Hein and Kronberg, as well as Jaime Capelo, will schedule an informal meeting
    with the Texas Attorney General to discuss and gather his stance on forced revenue sharing.
  11. Reported that 8 of the 9 Texas resident programs were represented at the TSA Long Range
    Planning Retreat on Saturday, January 21, 2012.
  12. Approved the Education Committee’s recommendations that:
    • The early Annual Meeting registration fee for members be increased to $300 and
      include all parallel sessions and workshops;
    • The early registration fee for attending only parallel sessions be $100 each for members;
    • The late registration fee will incur an additional $50 for the entire meeting and an
      additional $25 for parallel sessions; and
    • All other registration fees such as non-member and retired will remain the same.
  13. Charged Dr. Sherif Z. Zaafran with fi nalizing the TSA Annual Meeting Legislative Program by
    Mid-March of 2012.
  14. Charged Drs. Scott E. Kercheville, Evan G. Pivalizza and Joe E. Monk with revising the proposed letter, drafted by the TSA GAC, that opposes cuts to physician post graduate education in Texas
    and submitting to the Board for approval no later than April 1, 2012. Upon approval the letter will
    be hand-delivered to the members of Congress by the Texas Delegation to the ASA Legislative
    Conference.
  15. Charged the TSA GAC with drafting a document, concerning the corporate practice of medicine,
    which is similar to the Tennessee model. The document should include only the portions of the
    Tennessee model that are related to anesthesiologists.
  16. Noted that Texas Anesthesiologists Day is scheduled for April 17, 2012, and will be held in
    conjunction with CPR Day at the Capitol.
  17. Applauded Drs. H. A. Tillmann Hein and David C. Mackey for their efforts in establishing the
    Texas Surgical Quality Initiative.
  18. Approved Bylaws for the Texas Surgical Quality Initiative.
  19. Approved motion to increase the Texas Surgical Quality Initiative budget line to $3000.00.
  20. Charged the TSA Bylaws Committee with reviewing the proposed Circle of Friends (COFs)
    Bylaws and developing a structure for the COFs, with input from Drs. Curling and Kercheville.
  21. Charged Dr. Joe E. Monk with creating a sub-committee from the GAC to review the current
    reimbursement policy for the ASA Legislative Conference and reporting back to the Board by
    May with a proposal to take effect in 2013.
  22. Approved all proposed revisions to the 2012 budget.
  23. Approved the September 11, 2011 TSA Board of Directors Minutes as written.
  24. Approved statement reaffirming TSA’s strong support of the ban on the corporate practice of
    medicine.
  25. Approved the revised TSA Policy for Corporate Sponsorship and Endorsement.
  26. Approved revisions to the TSA Bylaws, Section 9.208, Committee on Governmental Affairs.

COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS

Committee appointments will begin soon. Contact Martin Giesecke, M.D., TSA President-Elect, if you, or someone you know, is interested in serving on a TSA Committee. Please contact Dr. Giesecke c/o the TSA Office by telephone at (512) 370-1659 or (800) 346-1659, fax (512) 370-1655, or by email at
chris@tsa.org.

A list of committees is also available online. If you have any questions about a
particular committee, please let us know.

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