Gary Francis, MD
UT Health San Antonio
- Specialty
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Board Affiliation/Certification
- American Board of Pediatric Endocrinology
- American Board of Pediatrics
- Education
- University of Florida College of Medicine, 1974
- Residency
- University of Florida College of Medicine, 1977
- Fellowships
- University of Oklahoma, 1979
- University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, 1979
- National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 1980
- Languages
- English
- Gender
- Male
- Insurance Accepted
- 6 Degrees - Transplant
- 90 Degree Benefits - Commercial
- Aetna - Commercial Exchange
- Aetna - PPO/EPO/HMO/MC Advantage
- Aetna - Smart Care EPO
- Aetna - Transplant
- Aetna Better Health - Medicaid-CHIP
- Aetna Better Health - Medicaid-STAR
- Amerigroup (Gonzaba) - Medicare Advantage (Transplants only)
- Amerigroup - Medicaid-CHIP
- Amerigroup - Medicaid-CHIP Perinate
- Amerigroup - Medicaid-STAR
- Amerigroup - Medicaid-STAR Kids
- Amerigroup - Medicaid-STAR PLUS
- Amerigroup - Medicare Advantage
- Amerigroup - Medicare-Medicaid Duals
- Ancira Enterprises - Direct Employer
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas - Exchange (BlueAdvantage)
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas - HMO/PPO
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas - HPN/EPO (Narrow Network)
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas - Medicaid-STAR
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas - Medicare Advantage HMO
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas - Medicare Advantage PPO
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas - Narrow HMO (Blue Essentials)
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas - Narrow HMO (Blue Premier)
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas - Traditional
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas - Transplant Programs
- Care Improvement Plus - Medicare Advantage-SNP
- Cenpatico - Medicaid-CHIP
- Cenpatico - Medicaid-STAR
- Cenpatico - Medicaid-STAR Health (Foster Care)
- Cenpatico - Medicare Advantage
- Cigna (USSA Client Only) - Direct Employer
- Community First Health Plans - HMO/Exchange (EPO)
- Community First Health Plans - Medicaid-CHIP
- Community First Health Plans - Medicaid-CHIP Perinate
- Community First Health Plans - Medicaid-STAR
- Community First Health Plans - Medicaid-STAR Kids
- Community First Health Plans - Medicare Advantage HMO
- Coventry - HMO/PPO
- Coventry - Work Comp / Auto
- Driscoll Health Plan - Medicaid-All
- EBSO - TPA
- El Paso First - Medicaid-CHIP
- El Paso First - Medicaid-STAR
- Entrust - TPA
- First Health - Commercial PPO
- FirstCare (Part of Scott & White Health Plans) - Medicaid-STAR
- Gonzaba Medical Group - Transplant ONLY
- Healthsmart - Accel
- Healthsmart - Commercial PPO
- Healthsmart - HPO/POS
- Humana - Commercial Behavioral Health
- Humana - Exchange (HMOx)
- Humana - HMO/PPO/Behavioral Health
- Humana - Medicare Advantage Behavioral Health
- Humana - Medicare Advantage HMO (Gold)
- Humana - Medicare Advantage PPO
- Humana - National Transplant ONLY Network
- Humana Military - TRICARE
- Imperial Health Plan - Medicare Advantage
- Independent Medical Systems (IMS) - PPO
- Interlink - Transplant
- LifeTrac - Transplant
- Magellan - Commercial and Medicaid Behavioral Health
- Molina - Commercial Exchange
- Molina - Medicaid-CHIP
- Molina - Medicaid-CHIP Perinate
- Molina - Medicaid-STAR
- Molina - Medicare Advantage
- Molina - Medicare-Medicaid Duals
- OptumHealth - Transplant ONLY
- Oscar - Commercial Exchange
- Point Comfort Underwriters (PCU) - Refugee Medical Assistance
- Point Comfort Underwriters (PCU) - Unaccompanied Children
- Prime Health Services - Commercial PPO
- Prime Health Services - Medicare Advantage
- ProCare Advantage - Medicare Advantage I-SNP
- Provider Network of America (PNOA) - Commercial
- Provider Partners Health Plan (PPHP) - Medicare Advantage I-SNP
- Scott & White Health Plan - HMO/PPO/Medicare Advantage
- Superior HealthPlan - Medicaid-CHIP
- Superior HealthPlan - Medicaid-CHIP Perinate
- Superior HealthPlan - Medicaid-STAR
- Superior HealthPlan - Medicaid-STAR Health (Foster Care)
- Superior HealthPlan - Medicaid-STAR Kids
- Superior HealthPlan - Medicaid-STAR PLUS
- Superior HealthPlan - Medicare Advantage (Allwell)
- Superior HealthPlan - Medicare-Medicaid Duals (Allwell)
- Texas Independence Health Plan - Medicare Advantage I-SNP
- Three Rivers Provider Network - PPO
- Tokio Marine - Transplant
- TriWest (via BCBSTX) - VA CCN Program
- UnitedHealthcare - Medicaid-STAR
- UnitedHealthcare - Medicaid-STAR Kids
- UnitedHealthcare - Medicaid-STAR PLUS
- UnitedHealthcare - Medicare Advantage
- UnitedHealthcare - PPO
- Universal Benefits Consortium - Brokerage Firm (School Districts)
- University of Incarnate Word (Gilsbar) - Direct Employer
- WellCare - Medicare Advantage
- WellMed - Medicare Advantage
- WellPoint (Gonzaba) - Medicare Advantage (TRANSPLANTS ONLY)
- WellPoint - Medicaid-CHIP
- WellPoint - Medicaid-CHIP Perinate
- WellPoint - Medicaid-STAR
- WellPoint - Medicaid-STAR Kids
- WellPoint - Medicaid-STAR PLUS
- WellPoint - Medicare Advantage
- WellPoint - Medicare-Medicaid Duals
Please contact your health insurance company to confirm provider participation. For billing and insurance questions, please call our Billing Department at 210-358-3260.
- Professor of Pediatrics
- My research activities focus on thyroid neoplasia and thyroid cancer in children. I previously served on the American Thyroid Association Treatment Guidelines Committee for Medullary Thyroid Cancer. I recently led a task force commissioned by the American Thyroid Association (ATA) to develop a set of guidelines for evaluating and treating children with thyroid nodules and cancer. The recently issued guidelines are the first and only set of recommendations that provide best practice standards for diagnosing and treating thyroid cancer in children ages 18 and younger. I also serve as Chair of the Data Safety Monitoring Board for closed-loop insulin trials at the University of Virginia Center for Diabetes Technology.
- Research Interests:
- Thyroid cancer in children, thyroid neoplasia and any thyroid diseases in children
Abstracts
- Allen N; Desai N; Song C; Yu J; Prasad U; Francis GL. Clinical features may help to identify children and adolescents with greatest risk for thyroid nodules. J Endocrinol Invest 2020 Jul; 43(7):925-934. Doi: 10.1007 s40618-019-01176.6 Epub 2020 Jan 11. PMID: 31927747.
- Catherine Kerr MD, Gary Francis MD Ph.D. Thyroid Nodules in Children and Adolescents. Journal of Radiology and Imaging Science. J Radiol & Imaging Sci. 2020;1(1):1-5.
- Niran R. Wjiesooriya1, M.D., Caroline Carrico2, Ph.D., Gary Francis1, M.D. Ph.D., Chris Gennings3, Ph.D., Edmond P. Wickham III1 2, M.D. MPH. Association between Urinary Phthalate Levels and Body Mass Index Z-scores in US Children. Submitted to Obesity, May 2016.
- Andrew J Bauer and Gary L Francis. Management of Thyroid Nodules in Children. Curr Opin Pediatr. 2016 Aug;28(4):536-44 Apr 30. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 27139001.
Book Chapters
- Bauer AJ, Waguespack S, Grover A and Francis G. Thyroid Neoplasia. In Radovick and Misra Pediatric Endocrinology: A Practical Guide 3rd Ed. Springer Science. Chapter 19. Submitted 2016.
- Bauer AJ and Francis GL. Chapter 4: Molecular Aspects of Thyroid Cancer in Children. Thyroid Cancer: A Clinical Guide, 3rd Edition. Ed. Leonard Wartofsky, M.D., and Douglas VanNostrand, M.D., 2015.
- Waguespack S and Francis GL. Chapter 44: Radioactive Iodine Therapy of Thyroid Cancer in Children. Thyroid Cancer: A Clinical Guide, 3rd Edition, Ed. Leonard Wartofsky, M.D., and Douglas VanNostrand, M.D. 2015.
Other Publications
- Francis GL. Inadvertent Parathyroid Gland Removal During Thyroid Surgery in Children. A review of: Ziai H, Dixon P, Berman G, Campisi P, Wasserman JD. 2002 Incidental Parathyroidectomy Among Pediatric Patients Undergoing Thyroid Surgery. Laryngoscope. 2022 Nov;132(11):2262-2269. doi: 10.1002/lary.30056. Epub 2022 Feb 22. PMID: 35191038 Clinical Thyroidology February 2023. Francis GL. Macro–Thyrotropin and Other Disorders in the Differential Diagnosis of Congenital Hypothyroidism. Clinical Thyroidology 2023 Feb; 132(11) 142–146. Published Online:11 April 2023.
- Francis, G. L. (2023). Macro–Thyrotropin and Other Disorders in the Differential Diagnosis of Congenital Hypothyroidism. Clinical Thyroidology, 35(4), 142-146.
- Francis, G. L. (2023). Thyroid Function Abnormalities in Childhood Cancer Survivors. Clinical Thyroidology, 35(6), 224-228.
- Catherine E. Kerr, MD1; Jorge Velez, MD2; Jay Ferrell, MD3; Mio Kitano, MD4; Dr. Wouter Koek, PhD5; Patricia Dahia, MD, PhD6; and Gary Francis, MD, PhD1. Thyroid Nodules of Indeterminate Cytology in Hispanic/Latinx Patients. Head and Neck, 2022 Aug;44(8):1842-1848. PMID: 35583054.
- Luisa Rodriguez, MD, MS1, Catherine Dinauer, MD2, Gary Francis, MD, PhD3. Treatment of Hypothyroidism in Infants, Children and Adolescents. Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism, VOLUME 33, ISSUE 7, P522-532, JULY 01, 2022.
- Francis, GL. Review of: Bardugo A, Derazne E, Zucker I, Bendor C, Puris G, Lutski M, Pinhas-Hamiel O, Cukierman-Yaffe T, MosenzonO\ O, Schechter M, Tzur D, Afek A, Tirosh A, Gerstein H, Raz I, and Twig G 2021. Adolescent Thyroid Disorders and Risk for Type 2 Diabetes in Young Adult. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 106:e3426-e3435 Adolescent Thyroid Disease and Risk for Adult Type 2 Diabetes. Clinical Thyroidology 34 (1) 6-9, 2022.
- Francis GL. Screening for Neonatal Hyperthyroidism. A review of: Banigé M, Kariyawasam D, Gauthereau V, Luton D, Polak M 2022 Neonatal Screening for Hyperthyroidism Proof of Concept. J Clin Endocrinol Metab Mar 24;107(4):e1374-e1381. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgab890. Clinical Thyroidology 34:282-285, 2022.
- Francis GL. Maternal Thyroid Autoimmunity Affects the Emotional and Behavioral Development of the Offspring. A Review of: Teng Y, Li P, Yang M, Han Y, Yan S, Xu Y, Tao F, Huang K 2022 Sex-specific effect of thyroid peroxidase antibody and thyroglobulin antibody exposure during pregnancy on preschoolers’ emotional and behavioral development: A birth cohort study. Thyroid 32:1229–1242. PMID: 35920111. Clinical Thyroidology 34(12):521-525, 2022.
- Francis GL. Trends in Lobectomy for Pediatric Thyroid Cancer. A review of: Eli Stein BS, Mehul V. Raval MD, MS, Inbal Hazkani MD, Audra Reiter MD, MPH, Jami L. Josefson MD, Jill H. Samis MD, and Jeffrey C. Rastatter MD, MS. The 2015 American Thyroid Association guidelines and trends in hemithyroidectomy utilization for pediatric thyroid cancer. Head & Neck. 2022;44:1833–1841. Clinical Thyroidology 34(8) 347-350, 2022.
- Francis, GL. The Future of Molecular Profiling for the Treatment of Pediatric Thyroid Cancer. Review of: NTRK and RET fusion–directed therapy in pediatric thyroid cancer yields a tumor response and radioiodine uptake. J Clin Invest. 131(18):e144847 https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI144847. Clinical Thyroidology, 34(4)2022:157-160.
- Francis GL. Trends in Pediatric and Adult Iodine Status in the United States. Review of: Zhang K, Cheng J, Yu J, Chen Y, Shi X, Zhu C, Lu Y, Wang N, Han B 2022. Trends in iodine status among U.S. children and adults: A cross-sectional analysis of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data from 2001–2004 to 2017–2020. Thyroid 32:962–971. PMID: 35822552. Clinical Thyroidology 34(11) 2022 .
- Francis, GL. What's the Likelihood of Post-Lobectomy Hypothyroidism in Children? Clinical Thyroidology 34(3) 100-102, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1089/ct.2022;34.100-102.
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Patient reviews
