Pain Clinic actions taken

Since the Sept. 1, 2010 deadline for registering pain clinics with the Texas Medical Board - a new requirement under last session's Senate Bill 911 - the TMB and the Texas State Board of Pharmacy, with help from the Drug Enforcement Agency, have taken the following pain clinic-related actions:

• Oct. 21, 2010 - TMB suspended without notice the license of David Shin, M.D., of Houston. 
• Oct. 21, 2010 - TMB suspended without notice certificate of Better Life Pain Clinic, where Shin worked.
• Oct. 25, 2010 - TSBP suspended license of H&W Pharmacy in Houston.
• Oct. 25, 2010 -  TSBP suspended license of H&W pharmacist Victor Egbulefu.
• Jan. 11, 2011 - TMB suspended without notice certificate of Spring Wellness Center in Houston.
• Jan. 14, 2011 - TMB suspended without notice the license of Julia Renee Ward, M.D., of Houston. Previously, the TMB denied certification of Tejas Urgent Care Clinic, where Ward worked.
• Feb. 4, 2011 - TMB accepts surrender of Spring Wellness Center's certificate from Dr. Jesus Caquias of Brownsville.

Stay tuned.


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New medical director joins TMB!

Gage-White

The Texas Medical Board announced today that Linda Gage-White, M.D., will become Medical Director of the agency in mid-January. 

Gage-White, an ear, nose and throat specialist, served on the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners from 2002 to 2010 as president, vice-president and as a member of the Licensure Committee and the Board’s Malpractice Committee.

 

“We’re very pleased to have someone of this caliber join the agency,” said TMB Executive Director Mari Robinson, J.D. “Dr. Gage-White’s extensive, relevant experience and her passion for patient safety will help fulfill the Board’s mission of public protection.”

 

A native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Gage-White graduated from Duke University and received her medical degree from the University of Miami School of Medicine. Gage-White interned at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami and completed her residency in otolaryngology at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics.

 

She has been affiliated with Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center for 25 years; she founded and served as director for the institution’s  multidisciplinary cleft lip and palate clinic. She was in private practice for 10 years before accepting her most recent academic appointment in 2000. She is board-certified in otolaryngology and has taken part in charitable medical missions throughout the world.

 

Dr. Gage-White fills a position vacated by Alan T. Moore, M.D., TMB’s previous medical director. State law requires that if the agency’s executive director is a non-physician, a medical director be hired.

Get the most out of the TMB website

Periodically, on this blog, I'm going to point out different features of the website. State law requires all of TMB's public information to be available, and much of it is right here. (Some of these tips may seem obvious, but you'd be surprised what I get asked about.)

Whether you're a patient or a health professional, you may want to look at a physician's public profile on this site. On the left hand side of the home page, click on "Look Up A Licensee." Or go to this link: http://reg.tmb.state.tx.us/OnLineVerif/Phys_NoticeVerif.asp Next, click on "I Accept the Usage Terms." That brings you to the search page.

You might want to see a list of all allergy specialists in Houston. Fill in the blank for city and use the pull-down menu for the specialty. (You'll end up with a long list.)

Or you might want to look at the profile of a particular doctor. Fill in all or just a few of the search terms. Click on the name that best matches the search results and voila! Scroll through the profile and you'll see where the doctor went to school, where the doctor has hospital privileges, and whether the doctor has been subject to any board disciplinary orders.

Reading our news releases may pique your curiosity about a particular provider. If you want to read the actual legal document describing the basis for a disciplinary order, go to the search page and fill in the doctor's name or license number. When you reach the doctor's public profile, scroll down to "TMB Actions and License Restrictions." Beneath that, you'll see a "View Orders" button. That's it!