By Morgan Montalvo
WOAI News
Gov. Greg Abbott has named a San Antonio physician to the Texas Medical Board, an appointed panel with wide-ranging authority to ensure quality health care in the Lone Star State, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Dr. Manuel Quinones, a family practitioner with HealthTexas Medical Group, currently is the only San Antonio area physician on the five-member board, which oversees the licensing of medical professionals in Texas, issues disciplinary actions against both practitioners and health care providers, and advises the Texas Legislature on medical issues and policy.
Quinones tells News Radio 1200 WOAI he hopes to achieve two goals while serving on the board: increasing the reach of telemedicine into the state's most under-served and rural areas, and creating pathways for physician's assistants and nurse practitioners - also known as mid-care providers - to play larger roles in the state's health care models.
Quinones will serve on the Texas Medical Board through April 2023.