by William L. Henrich, MD, MACP
In the spirit of a new academic year underway at the School of Medi-cine, this column is aimed at introducing several of the new initiatives being implemented at the School of Medicine.
One of the most significant initiatives has been the transition of the Division of Neurology from a division in the Department of Medicine to an independent department, the Depart-ment of Neurology.
The need for doctors with specialty training in areas of stroke, seizures, dementia and neuromuscular conditions is growing, especially in our older population. Neurology will continue to expand its services, education and research and recruit top quality, world class clinicians, teachers and resear-chers in its field.
The specialty areas of neurology have a very strong research and clinical base in the School of Medicine. These areas are part of cutting edge research nation-wide, and education for the Health Science Center and community. Areas including cerebrovascular disease, epilepsy/sleep, neuromuscular, movement disorders, dementia and multiple sclerosis are expanding in our clinical service and research arenas.
A new resident-PhD program has begun in the Department of Radiology, and in June Andres Rahal, MD, PhD, became its first graduate. This program, the first of its kind in the nation when it began seven years ago, is designed to produce physician scientists who can translate new discoveries in biomedical imaging and image-guided interventional techniques into useful clinical procedures for improving the diagnosis and treatment of patients.
The Department of Radiology has successfully recruited Dr. Rahal to join the full-time faculty in the Department as an Assistant Professor. As a physician scientist with a special interest in musculoskeletal radiology, he will continue his research on improved specificity of MRI diagnosis of collageonous lesions for the evaluation of diabetes, aging and sports injuries. Currently, there are seven additional Resident-PhD students in the program who will graduate over the next six years.
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio’s Clinical Enter-prise/Faculty Practice remains very active. It is currently in the process of developing Multidisciplinary Specialty Product Lines that are patient-centric with disease specific programs, service expectations and participant rewards. As they continue to focus on quality patient care and maximized efficiencies, they will use a new electronic medical record system (EPIC) to provide connectivity among all the UT Medicine Clinics. A key provision of the new system will be to provide expeditious feedback to all referring physicians.
Global Health issues continue to dominate the news. In response to the growing issues affecting international travelers, UT Medicine has implemented the new UT Medicine Travel Clinic. This clinic offers programs with expertise in pre-travel counseling and immunizations, country-specific medical and travel advisory information and advice on travel medical supplies in addition to a complete array of recommended travel vaccinations and post-travel diagnosis and treatment.
A new center has been established within the School of Medicine. It is The Pancreatobiliary Center, under the direction of Sandeep Patel, MD. It offers state-of-the-art evaluation and treatment of all manner of pancreatic and biliary disorders. Clinical evaluation at the Center is supplemented by a variety of advanced imaging and interventional tools. One exciting feature of the Center is its thriving collaboration with the Pediatric GI program, centered at CHRISTUS Santa Rosa, resulting in a rapidly growing Pediatric Pancreas center, offering both diagnosis and invasive therapy to children with pancreatic diseases.CA
We are a young institution with the passion to excel; we are on course to preeminence and continue to seek the pursuit of scientific truth at our School of Medicine – the clinical bridge from the laboratory to the bedside. We are committed to investing in our future and we are dedicated to making lives better for South Texas and the world. This is our time; we are on the threshold of an historic and transformational era of growth and achievement for our School and our University.
Warm regards,
William L. Henrich, MD, MACP
Dean, School of Medi-cine, Vice President for Medical Affairs, John P. Howe, III, MD Distinguished Chair in Health Policy
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