Department of Surgery Faculty

Miguel C. Fernández, MD

Associate Professor
Director, South Texas Poison Center

Division: Emergency Medicine
Email: fernandezmc@uthscsa.edu

Board Certifications:
Emergency Medicine
Medical Toxicology

Education:
MD, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, 1985
BA, Biological Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA 1980

Postgraduate training:
Medical toxicology, Arizona Health Sciences Center, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ
Emergency medicine, Drew Medical Center, Martin Luther King, Jr. General Hospital, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA

Research interests: Snakebites, poisonings, Environmental Health, International Health, Health Care Disparities

Clinical interests: poisoning prevention education, telemedicine video-conferencing for emergency medicine, medical toxicology, herbal medication

Publications:
Walter FG, Chase PB, Fernandez MC, Cameron D, Roe DJ, Wolfson, M. Pyridoxine does not prevent hyperbaric oxygen-induced seizures in rats. The Journal of Emergency Medicine, Vol. 31, No. 2, pp135-138, 2006.

Pit viper envenomation in pregnancy: A case report and literature review Journal of Emergency Medicine, Volume 30, Issue 2, February 2006, Pages 167-169 Craig G. Chang, Charlie Jaynes, Miguel C. Fern·ndez and Stephen T. Hougen

From Hemlock to 'Huffing' - Poison Centers See It All, Miguel C. Fernandez, Bexar County Medical Society San Antonio Medicine, February 2006, Vol 59, No.2

Presentations:
2009, Improving Patient Safety: Success Stories of the Patient Safety and Clinical Pharmacy Services Collaborative and the Poison Centers Role in Patient Safety, American Pharmacists Association, San Antonio, Texas.

2009, Addressing health care disparities in delivering poison center services to Spanish speakers in Texas.' Health Disparities Conference, New Orleans, LA.

2009, 'Regional poison center hourly call-taker staffing and call volume.' 29th International Congress of the European Association of Poison Centres and Clinical Toxicologists, Stockholm, Sweden.

Reversal of Atrial Fibrillation in Cyanide Poisoning, poster presentation, North American Congress of Clinical Toxicology, 2008

Biosketch: Dr. Miguel Fernández is responsible for the operation of the South Texas Poison Center and serves as liaison between the University Hospital and the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Dr. Fernández completed his postgraduate training in medical toxicology at Arizona Health Sciences Center, University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson, Arizona and his emergency medicine training in the Department of Emergency Medicine, Drew Medical Center, Martin Luther King, Jr., General Hospital, University of California at Los Angeles in California.

In the News:
Congratulations to Miguel Fernández, MD, Associate Professor and Medical Director of the South Texas Poison Center, who has been appointed as the National Hispanic Medical Association representative to a two-year term on the Governing Council of the Minority Affairs Consortium (MAC) of the American Medical Association (AMA). The AMA-MAC provides a national forum for advocacy on minority health issues and professional concerns of minority physicians and medical students. More about the AMA-MAC (4-27-09)

Miguel Fernández, MD, Medical Director of the South Texas Poison Center, interviewed by KWEX-TV for A Su Salud on the subject of Poisons in the home: We all have many common items in our homes that we don't think of as poisons. Dr. Fernández discussed how families can identify some of these common household poisons (cosmetics, charcoal, soaps, plants, etc.) and how to protect their children from ingesting these items. South Texas Poison Center website (4-23-09)

Miguel Fernández, MD, Medical Director of the South Texas Poison Center, spoke on behalf of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Poison Control Program (Health Services Administration) at the 2009 Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American Pharmacists Association in San Antonio. The topic of Dr. Fernández's was 'Improving Patient Safety: Success Stories of the Patient Safety and Clinical Pharmacy Services Collaborative and the Poison Centers Role in Patient Safety.' (4-14-09)

Miguel Fernández, MD, Medical Director of the South Texas Poison Center, interviewed about Texas Legislature House Bill 23, regarding meth lab disclosure: This bill would add a meth lab disclosure requirement to leases. "We have a saying in toxicology that there is nothing that is not a poison," Dr. Fernández said. "It's the dose that makes the poison. And this really is pertinent to this scenario." HB 23 adds to current law regarding disclosures to homebuyers, with a further requirement for landlords to inform renters before a lease is signed that the property had been used as a methamphetamine lab. Unlike asbestos or lead contamination in a home, the effects of methamphetamine contamination may vary widely. Read story in Express-News (4-3-09)

Congratulations to South Texas Poison Center Assistant Director Lizette Villarreal, and Director, Miguel Fernández, MD, on their successful submission for presentation of two abstracts: 'Addressing health care disparities in delivering poison center services to Spanish speakers in Texas,' has been accepted for poster presentation to the 3rd Annual Health Disparities Conference in New Orleans, LA, March 2009. Their abstract 'Regional poison center hourly call-taker staffing and call volume' has been accepted for poster presentation at the 29th International Congress of the European Association of Poison Centres and Clinical Toxicologists in Stockholm, Sweden, in May 2009. (3-12-09) March 16-22 is National Poison Prevention Week: Dr. Miguel Fernández, MD, toxicologist and director of the South Texas Poison Center, reminds everyone of the services available 24/7 to the citizens of San Antonio, Bexar County and the South Texas region. Read HSC press release | Visit the STPC website (3-18-08)

Miguel Fernandez, MD, Director, South Texas Poison Center, was interviewed on KENS-5 San Antonio's evening news regarding the CDC's recent warnings about elemental mercury in some antiques. CDC: Elemental Mercury Releases ... (7-9-07)

Awards and honors:
Hispanic Medical Association representative to American Medical Association Minority Affairs Consortium, 2-year term; 2009
Fellow of the American College of Medical Toxicology
Fellowship in Health Care Policy, NYU School of Public Policy/National Hispanic Medical Association, New York and Washington DC
Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians
National Health Service Corps Scholarship Award
Appointment by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy G. Thompson to the Board of Scientific Counselors for the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry at the CDC in Atlanta

Professional societies:
Bexar County Medical Society
American Acacemy of Clinical Toxicology
American College of Medical Toxicology
American College of Emergency Physicians
American Academy of Emergency Medicine
American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Texas Medical Association