Medical Journal Houston Vol. 11, Issue 11, February 2015

Legal Affairs: Court dismisses doctor’s ADA claims against hospital system, see page 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Leading Source for Healthcare Business News February 2015 • Volume 11, Issue 11 • $3.50 Texas Children’s Hospital to build new pediatric tower in the Texas Medical Center INSIDE ▼ The evidence for coverage expansion see page 8 INDEX ▼ Legal Affairs......................3 Financial Perspectives.......4 Physicians’ Forum.............5 THA................................8 Texas Children’s Board of Trustees has enthusiastically approved expansion and renovation plans for the hospital’s main campus in the Texas Medical Center. The expansion includes reinvesting in the programs needed by the most critically ill patients, primarily in the critical care units, operating rooms, Heart Center, Emergency Center, and many of the diagnostic and therapeutic services offered by the hospital. Texas Children’s will build 19 floors on top of the existing building base next to Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women, adding 640,000 square feet, resulting in a 25-floor tower. Slated to be completed in 2018, the new tower will house 130 beds for pediatric and cardiovascular intensive care, new operating rooms with the latest technology, and will be the new home to Texas Children’s Heart Center, including the outpatient clinic, cardiovascular operating rooms, and catheterization labs. The total project budget for the vertical expansion is $506 million. Following the addition of the new tower, the hospital plans to renovate the Emergency Center, as well as other areas in the hospital’s West Tower. Diagnostic and therapeutic services will be expanded throughout the main campus so care can be delivered close to the patients. Texas Children’s the best possible place to give and receive care.” “These programs are at the core of our mission to create a healthier future for children throughout our broad community and will ensure the best possible outcomes for some of the nation’s sickest children,” said Mark A. Wallace, president and CEO of Texas Children’s Hospital. “The expansion will help us deliver on our promise to make The hospital has contracted with a number of design and construction professionals to see this project through to fruition including FKP Architects, Walter P. Moore, Smith Seckman Reid, Inc., and WS Bellows Construction Corporation, among others. t ............................................................... Integrative medicine: the evolving story of the human microbiome The buzz of IASTM see page 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . BY Victor S. Sierpina, MD, ABFM, ABIHM, Director, Medical Student Education Program, WD and Laura Nell Nicholson Family Professor of Integrative Medicine, Professor, Family Medicine University of Texas Distinguished Teaching Professor A few weeks ago, I served as a panelist and speaker on a pre-conference workshop on Probiotics at the annual Scripps Natural Supplements Conference in San Diego. This is the premier conference held each January that covers emerging clinical, research, and regulatory issues related to herbs and natural supplements. Put it on your CME calendar for next year. During our panel presentations, a number of themes and issues emerged which I will touch on briefly. Some key items were: the effect of diet on our microbiome: how alterations in gut bacteria can produce endotoxemia, inflammation, and glucose intolerance; alterations in gut bacteria contribute to obesity; fecal transplants are good for resistant Clostridium dificile and even ulcerative colitis; antibiotics significantly deplete the microbiome species variation and this dysbiosis can have longterm health consequences well beyond simple antibiotic-induced diarrhea; nocalorie soft drinks alter gut biota which might account for why weight loss is not robust and diabetes risk are not lowered by these beverages. Much research on the microbiome is emerging and like studies into the human genome, is revealing not only what we have newly discovered, but also the large gaps in what we don’t know in this area. Please see MICROBIOME page 11 PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID HOUSTON TX PERMIT NO 13187