The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston tapped Mari Robinson, current executive director of the Texas Medical Board, to serve as its new director of telehealth, according to a Houston Chronicle report. Ms. Robinson will take on the new role in October.
Ms. Robinson will guide telehealth policies at UTMB in her new role, and she will focus on developing partnerships in Texas to expand rural access to healthcare.
During her tenure as the Texas Medical Board's executive director, the board implemented laws governing telemedicine that industry advocates said were restrictive. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the state board's rule, that included requiring "physicians to meet with patients in person before treating them remotely," according to the report.
The Houston Chronicle could not reach either Ms. Robinson or the state board for comment.