Texas Medical Association

Texas Medical Association TMA is more than 60,000 physicians and medical students caring for Texans. TMA’s key objective since 1853 is to improve the health of all Texans.

TMA is the largest state medical society in the nation, representing more than 55,000 physician and medical student members. It is located in Austin and has 110 component county medical societies around the state. To read our social media conduct policy and page rules, please visit www.texmed.org/TMASocialPolicy/.

Madhureeta Achari, MD, hosted her first Hard Hats for Little Heads event in January. The Houston neurologist gave free ...
02/20/2026

Madhureeta Achari, MD, hosted her first Hard Hats for Little Heads event in January. The Houston neurologist gave free helmets to children in her community. Last year, Texas physicians, county medical societies, and TMA Alliance members distributed 9,578 helmets. A properly fitting helmet can prevent head injuries – up to 85%.

Get out and vote. Many polling locations are open between 7 am to 7 pm, including weekends. Click the link below to chec...
02/18/2026

Get out and vote. Many polling locations are open between 7 am to 7 pm, including weekends. Click the link below to check your registration and find your place to vote. Learn more: https://hubs.li/Q043FT9M0

From walking in space to transforming health care, Bernard A. Harris Jr., MD, has challenged boundaries and redefined wh...
02/17/2026

From walking in space to transforming health care, Bernard A. Harris Jr., MD, has challenged boundaries and redefined what’s possible.

Join us at TexMed 2026 to learn about his journey, the challenges he’s overcome, and his advice for future leaders exploring medicine, technology, and beyond.

Free for all TMA members — register today: https://hubs.li/Q042SNHv0

Happy ! Today, we’re showcasing Katherine Smith, MD, member of the Dallas Country Medical Society. In addition to her c...
02/16/2026

Happy ! Today, we’re showcasing Katherine Smith, MD, member of the Dallas Country Medical Society. In addition to her clinical practice, she is the fellowship director for the minimally invasive gynecology surgery program at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. Dr. Smith enjoys singing (particularly in the operating room), spending her free time with her husband and children, and loves chips and queso.

Why did you become a physician?
Like so many other physicians, I initially entered medicine to help people. I stayed in medicine because of the powerful and moving beauty that comes from connecting with patients.

What do you like most about being a physician?
I like collaborating with patients to create custom medical and surgical care plans to meet their individual needs. I find it rewarding to address their pain, bleeding, and reproductive concerns with minimally invasive techniques.

TMA sends heartfelt appreciation to our dedicated physicians and the care, compassion, and commitment they bring to thei...
02/14/2026

TMA sends heartfelt appreciation to our dedicated physicians and the care, compassion, and commitment they bring to their communities and the state of Texas every day. Thank you.

I spent the last 30 minutes of the day, from about 10:00 to 10:30 pm, reading. I only read non-fiction, and I’m currentl...
02/12/2026

I spent the last 30 minutes of the day, from about 10:00 to 10:30 pm, reading. I only read non-fiction, and I’m currently reading “The Gunfighters: How Texas Made the West Wild” by Brian Burrough. This was a Christmas present from my kids. Texas has such a fascinating history, and I am convinced daily I live in the best state in the union.

Goodnight and thank you for tuning it to “TMA’s a day in the life.”

With the day winding down, I spend a little quality time with our trained killer guard dog, Phoebe, who is a one-year-ol...
02/12/2026

With the day winding down, I spend a little quality time with our trained killer guard dog, Phoebe, who is a one-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Though she be but little, she is fierce. She is generally adept at fending off squirrels and lizards, and occasionally large bugs. For some reason she has a particular hatred of horses on TV — all of which pose the threat of certain death to her owners (in her mind). Thus far, she has successfully defended our household from these daily attacks.

At 7:00 pm, I have dinner with my wife and our oldest son, Hank, who doesn’t resume college for a few days and is still ...
02/12/2026

At 7:00 pm, I have dinner with my wife and our oldest son, Hank, who doesn’t resume college for a few days and is still in town before he leaves for New York for the next four months. We have four children, two older daughters, and two younger sons. My wife, Amanda, works full time as the Director of Advising for Baylor University, Robbins College. I am blessed with a wonderful, loving, and supportive family.

We had all four kids home for Christmas, but it’s getting more and more rare to have all six of us at the same dinner table. But even having one around is more than we often have, and we take what we can get. We will be empty nesters again next week. Sigh.

One Wednesday night each month at 6 pm, members of the Texas Medical Association Board of Trustees gather via Zoom to se...
02/12/2026

One Wednesday night each month at 6 pm, members of the Texas Medical Association Board of Trustees gather via Zoom to serve as advisors to the editors of Texas Medicine, TMA’s magazine. It’s fun to hear the stories and features our wonderful staff journalists put together for us to review. I appreciate the in-depth thought analysis, foresightedness, and the ability to pick out—from such a vast array of topics—the particular ones to highlight for our 60,000 TMA members. Texas physicians are fortunate to have the wonderful flagship state medical organization we have … we must never take it for granted!

I close out the clinical day in my Waco office, returning phone calls and going over pathology and imaging results. I’m...
02/11/2026

I close out the clinical day in my Waco office, returning phone calls and going over pathology and imaging results. I’m pictured here having a conversation with a Hypoglossal Nerve Stimulator device representative, which I routinely implant—a device affected by the new WISeR pre-authorization program that starts this month. Texas is one of six states to participate in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services pilot, which will employ the management company Cohere Health to oversee 14 different procedures and prior authorizations. Prior authorization take up a large amount of a physician’s time. They generally exists to limit care and save the health plans money, often to the patient's detriment. This "enhanced authorization" will use AI to review our work. We will see how it goes ... but TMA is ready to provide loud and vocal critiques.

This afternoon I drove back to Waco to do one last surgical case, a closed nasal reduction on young athlete who broke th...
02/11/2026

This afternoon I drove back to Waco to do one last surgical case, a closed nasal reduction on young athlete who broke their nose.

I have the best specialty: I have the ability to operate on children and adults, to perform urgent trauma and routine quality of life surgery, and improve peoples' lives. I feel extremely blessed that I matched with an ENT program as a resident. I did so on a fluke. I had only done three weeks of ENT training when I submitted my early match application. But I matched, and to this day, I consider myself lucky to have found my perfect career.

02/11/2026

Dr. Holland shares how AI (artificial intelligence) cuts down chart time significantly and has made a big difference in his practice.

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We Are TMA

TMA is the largest state medical society in the nation, representing more than 53,000 physician and medical student members. It is located in Austin and has 110 component county medical societies around the state. TMA’s key objective since 1853 is to improve the health of all Texans.