NASA's latest adventure to Mars has given the world more than just glimpses of a new alien landscape.
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Monthly Archives: August 2012
NASA shows first 'crime scene' photo of Mars landing
About 36 hours after NASA landed its $2.5 billion rover on Mars, it released what it jokingly dubbed a "crime scene" aerial shot of where the parachute, heat shield and vehicle came down.
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Medicine Park family recovered after 2011 fires
MEDICINE PARK, Okla_It has been a little over a year since fires tore through Medicine Park threatening many homes and burning thousands of acres. We wanted to go back and check on those who live in Big Rock Estates to see how things look one year later, and find out how things might have changed since the fires.
The Fahrion family has lived in Big Rock Estates for 10 years. They say when the fire first broke out, they were terrified, fearing that their home they had worked so hard to put together would go up in flames. They were one of the luckier families. Their home was still standing after the fire came through, but the siding was charred, and the inside was covered in soot. A year later they say they are happy with the rebuilding progress and glad to still call Medicine Park home.
Muriel Fahrion said she will never forget hearing the dreadful knocking at her door with firefighters telling her to evacuate her home because fires would soon be taking over Medicine Park.
"It was extremely scary. What do you grab if you have to evacuate?"
Ten minutes later, Muriel said they grabbed what they could and ran outside. In that short amount of time, ash had begun falling on their heads. She said that's when it became real.
For the next few days Muriel and her husband kept a close eye on the fire. When they were able to return, they saw their home standing but not the way they had left it.
"The outside we had maybe 2/5 of the house was the cedar siding, all that cedar siding because fire surrounded the house it came from all sides all curled and it was worthless."
Now the once cedar siding wall is hardy board, a molded concrete mix not to mention the inside of the house had to be repainted and completely washed down. Soot covered the inside of the home and trees that once stood lush were now burnt to a crisp.
"It was so much more than I think people even think is going to happen. With a fire they hear on TV their house was saved but meanwhile a month later and $33,000 we were finally back to at least being able to live in our house."
Muriel said no amount of fire damage would keep them out of Medicine Park. She said she's thankful that though the fire tried to take down the house it didn't bring down their determination to get their home back where it once was.
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Penn Medicine Professor Selected for Emerging Leaders Fund Grant from the Claneil Foundation to Support Puentes de Salud
Puentes de Salud co-founders Steve Larson, MD, associate professor, Emergency Medicine, and Matthew O'Brien MD, MSc, were recently selected for an Emerging Leaders Fund grant from the Claneil Foundation to support Puentes de Salud, a nonprofit free health clinic for Latino immigrants in Philadelphia.
The Emerging Leaders Fund provides founders and leaders of young organizations who show great potential for strong positive impact with $200,000 of unrestricted funding over four years and a peer group of other leaders for guidance. The organization turns to more than 80 sources to pool prospective recipients and then selects up to four annually.
Puentes de Salud was founded on the belief that community health and wellness are not the domain of merely one group or discipline, but rather a collaborative community effort. The organization partners with community leaders, local government, educational, and nonprofit institutions to address the detrimental economic and social attributes impacting the health of South Philadelphia's Latino population. In doing so, Puentes de Salud promotes health and wellness in this population and educates future generations of community advocates, health care providers, educators and leaders by offering opportunities for responsible and respectful community engagement.
"It is a tremendous honor for Puentes de Salud to receive this award from the Claneil Foundation and acknowledges the passion, patience, and perseverance that has defined the dedicated efforts of countless Puentes volunteers to ensure the health and wellness of South Philadelphia's vibrant, yet vulnerable Latino immigrant population," said Larson.
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Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $4.3 billion enterprise.
The Perelman School of Medicine is currently ranked #2 in U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $479.3 million awarded in the 2011 fiscal year.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania -- recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; and Pennsylvania Hospital the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Penn Medicine also includes additional patient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region.
Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2011, Penn Medicine provided $854 million to benefit our community.
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Clinical trial for rabies monoclonal antibody
Public release date: 7-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Mark L. Shelton mark.shelton@umassmed.edu 508-856-2000 University of Massachusetts Medical School
BOSTON, Mass. A pivotal clinical trial for an anti-rabies human monoclonal antibody (RMAb) being developed through a collaborative partnership between MassBiologics of the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the Serum Institute of India, Ltd., is starting to enroll patients. The study, sponsored by the Serum Institute, will evaluate the efficacy of post-exposure prophylaxis following rabies exposure with RMAb and vaccine compared to standard treatment of human rabies immune globulin (hRIG) and vaccine. Post-exposure prophylaxis for rabies that includes a monoclonal antibody should provide a more affordable, safer alternative to prevent the disease, which is a world-wide public health problem impacting 10 million people a year and resulting in some 55,000 deaths.
"We are extremely pleased that this potentially life-saving product has moved forward to the pivotal clinical trial phase," said Deborah Molrine, MD, deputy director of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs at MassBiologics and an associate professor of pediatrics at UMass Medical School. "Rabies is a major public health problem in Asia and Africa, and we are hopeful that the findings of this study may result in a treatment option readily available in those areas where it is needed most."
The randomized, comparator-controlled study being conducted in India will enroll 200 patients who have had a high-risk (category III as defined by the World Health Organization) exposure to a suspected rabid animal. Study participants will receive proper wound care followed by injections of either the investigational RMAb or standard hRIG treatment in combination with a five-dose rabies vaccine series.
The primary endpoint of the study is to demonstrate that the level of neutralizing antibody to rabies virus in the blood of participants who received RMAb and vaccine is at least as much as the level of anti-rabies neutralizing antibody in the blood of those who received hRIG and vaccine.
While deaths from rabies in the United States are rare, rabies remains a significant problem with approximately 95 percent of human deaths from rabies occurring in Asia and Africa. Death from rabies is preventable with timely post-exposure prophylaxis consisting of wound hygiene, administration of rabies immune globulin, and active immunization with rabies vaccine. In persons wounded by a suspected rabid animal, the vaccine works to stimulate the immune system to fight the rabies virus, while the rabies immune globulin provides immediate protection with neutralizing antibodies before the immune system begins making its own antibodies.
Human rabies immune globulin, derived from human blood, is an expensive product and carries a potential risk of contamination with blood-borne pathogens. Equine immune globulin (eRIG), derived from horse serum, is used in many parts of the world, but its use is associated with significant adverse effects such as anaphylaxis or serum sickness. Both products are often in short supply and costly for inhabitants of areas of the world where rabies is endemic. In India alone, it is estimated only 2 percent of patients whose wounds require the rabies immune globulin receive appropriate post-exposure treatment.
To address the supply and adverse effects issues, MassBiologics and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention developed an anti- rabies monoclonal antibody with the goal that it might be used in place of hRIG or eRIG. MassBiologics then partnered with the Serum Institute to develop and manufacture the monoclonal antibody in India. "A monoclonal antibody for rabies has the advantage of being able to be produced in large quantities, at much lower costs than blood products," said Prasad Kulkarni, MD, medical director at the Serum Institute of India, Ltd. "And since they are not derived from blood serum, they have none of the safety issues associated with human blood products. If the primary endpoint from this pivotal trial is met, a new therapy could become available to thousands of patients each year to prevent the too-often fatal outcome of this infection."
In a phase 1 trial at the King Edward Memorial Hospital (KEM) in Mumbai, India, 74 healthy volunteers were randomized into several groups that either received RMAb or of hRIG combined with vaccine. Results showed that the RMAb was well tolerated by all subjects, with no serious side-effects. A dose of RMAb was selected from this study that produced comparable levels of rabies virus neutralizing antibodies in the blood from volunteers who received RMAb and vaccine compared to those who received the standard regimen of hRIG and vaccine.
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Acid spill at Harvard Med School prompts evacuation
A chemical spill prompted firefighters to evacuated a Harvard Medical School building for several hours Tuesday afternoon after a doctor working in a lab spilled several large bottles of acids, according to firefighters.
The doctor went to get a bottle off a shelf in a 10th floor lab on Avenue Louis Pasteur at about 3 p.m. and inadvertantly knocked three bottles containing acids, which rolled off the shelf and smashed, said Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald.
The doctor, who was dressed in protective lab clothing, followed protocol and immediately jumped under a lab shower to decontaminate herself, said MacDonald, who told the Herald no one was injured in the spill.
MacDonald said Harvard hired a cleanup company to clean up the spilled bottles, which were about two liters each and contained acetic and hydrochloric acids.
Acetic acid is flammable and both acids are irritants. They can cause burns if you come in contact with them and they can cause some distress if you inhale the chemicals, said MacDonald.
Boston firefighters, who sealed off the street during the incident, also conducted air quality readings to ensure the 10-story medical school building was safe, according to MacDonald.
Harvard Medical School issued a statement saying the chemical spill on the buildings top floor happened in the Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology and confirmed the top three floors of the building would remain evacuated until further notice.
A Harvard Medical spokeswoman declined to say whether the incident would prompt a review of chemical storage practices in the labs.
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Hazmat crews respond to Harvard Medical School after acid spills in 10th-floor lab
By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff
A Harvard Medical School building was evacuated this afternoon after chemicals spilled on the 10th floor, the Boston Fire Department said.
Steve MacDonald, a Fire Department spokesman, said three two-liter bottles containing acetic and hydrochloric acid broke and the substances spilled about 3 p.m. inside a lab at the building at 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur in Boston.
MacDonald said the spill was contained to the 10th floor, and no one was injured. A doctor who was in the area of the spill was wearing the proper protective gear and followed procedure for self-decontamination, MacDonald said.
She was allowed to go home after paramedics examined her at the scene, he said. There were no injuries.
MacDonald said at the scene at about 5 p.m. that a hazardous materials cleanup team was en route and it was not clear when the building would reopen.
My experiments ruined, said Russell Griffin, 28, a research technician who was working on the 6th floor when the spill occurred.
MacDonald said both acetic and hydrochloric acids are irritants and can cause burns, and that acetic acid is flammable.
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Hazmat crews respond to Harvard Medical School after acid spills in 10th-floor lab
Hazmat crews at Harvard Medical School spill
A Harvard Medical School building was evacuated on Tuesday afternoon after two types of acid spilled on the 10th floor, a fire official said. Steve MacDonald, a Boston Fire Department spokesman, said three 2-liter bottles containing acetic and hydrochloric acid broke and the fluids spilled at about 3 p.m. inside a lab in the building at 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur. MacDonald said that the spill was contained to the 10th floor and that no one was injured. He said firefighters evacuated the building for about 3 hours while they took chemical readings and a crew cleaned up the spillage area. MacDonald said both acids can cause burns.
Travis Andersen can be reached at tandersen@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @TAGlobe.
Copyright 2012 Globe Newspaper Company.
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Stunning Liberty Ross Resurfaces Without Wedding Ring Following Rupert Sanders' Fling With Kristen Stewart
Ross' ravishing revenge!
On Sunday, Liberty Ross was photographed for one of the first times since director husband Rupert Sanders was caught cheating with his Snow White and the Huntsman star Kristen Stewart.
The British model, 33, emerged in the L.A. area Aug. 5 smiling and holding hands with the adorable kids she shares with Sanders, 41: daughter Skyla, 7, and son Tennyson, 5.
PHOTOS: All the pics from Kristen and Rupert's shocking July 17 fling
The former British Vogue cover girl looked catwalk-slim in skinny jeans, a nearly-sheer T-shirt and leopard-print blouse. Missing from her ensemble? Her wedding ring.
Liberty Ross on August 6, 2012 in California. Credit: NPG.com
One day later, Ross made another public appearance, this times sans kids and looking seriously sexy and no-nonsense in a chic, black business suit and high heels.
PHOTOS: Kristen and Rupert's road to infidelity
How is Ross doing in the wake of Sanders' shocking fling with Stewart, 22? "Liberty is very upset but hasn't made any decisions," a source tells Us Weekly of her 15-year relationship with Sanders. "It's too early to tell what will happen with them."
The brunette (who played mother to a younger version of Stewart's character in Snow White) actually learned of Sanders' betrayal a week before Us Weekly's photos emerged, the source adds. "She was coming to terms with it."
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Liberty Hill builds for the future
LIBERTY HILL, Texas (KXAN) - Liberty Hill Independent School District is building for its future. The first structures are starting to take shape at the new high school location on the Northwest corner of County Road 277 and SH 29.
The high school campus, which encompasses 95 acres, is just a part of an $86 million bond package passed in 2010. The project also includes upgrades to Liberty Hill's Junior High, Intermediate, and Elementary Schools, but the high school accounts for $61 million.
"Fortunately, people had a good vision as to what's going to happen in the future of Liberty Hill," said Liberty Hill ISD Superintendent Rob Hart. "So, voters approved it."
The high school will hold 1,600 students, which is about twice the current enrollment. But housing development in the area demands expansion.
"40-percent of the available home building lots in the Austin area are in Liberty Hill ISD," Hart added. "So, we're trying to stay ahead of the game."
The building will have 48 classrooms, nine science labs, 10 computer labs, one competition gym and two smaller practice gyms, career and technology classrooms, a band hall, choir room and an auditorium.
In addition, the school's athletic teams will get new facilities. The site will have parking for 1,100 vehicles,a football stadium for 5,000, an 8-lane track, two practice fields, a baseball field and softball field (both with seating for 500), tennis courts and field houses, a weight room and concession stands. The current football field is on the elementary school's campus.
"It's going to be a lot different than going to the elementary school to watch a high school football game," said Liberty Hill resident Tim McIlhaney. "We currently can't seat everybody. I mean, I get there five minutes late, and I can't sit down."
The brunt of funding will come over the next three years, increasing taxes on a $200-thousand dollar home anywhere from $138-188 a year.
"I've been in a lot of West Texas towns, and communities are dying," said McIlhaney. "The mentality is totally different than it is here."
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Libertarian presidential candidate climbs CommRow
Coming Sunday: Can Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson play spoiler in the battle ground state of Nevada? Also: A look at Nevada’s Libertarian Party.
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Libertarian Candidate Takes on Uphill Climb in Reno
The Biggest Little City is adding to its list of recent presidential campaign visits -- with a stop from Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson Tuesday.
During his brief visit, Johnson did something unusual for the campaign trail: he scaled the 70-foot first level of CommRow's outdoor climbing wall. It was a fitting metaphor for the uphill battle facing the third-party candidate.
"This is an uphill climb," Johnson said, "and I am going to argue that I'm not the third choice; that I'm the only choice in this race."
Johnson is gearing up not just for a difficult climb, but for a challenging campaign season. The two-party system in the United States makes it very difficult for a third-party candidate to get elected.
Johnson was the Republican governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003, and was selected by the Libertarian party to be their candidate this election season.
Johnson said as a member of a third party, he can challenge both Democrats and Republicans on major issues, like civil liberties and the economy.
"Have that challenge," Johnson said, "as opposed to what you've got now, which is no compromise on two issues that are really important to Americans."
The third party perspective is what Mimi Garner says won her over to Johnson's fan base.
"I think we need somebody that's third party," Garner said, "that can cut through the pointing fingers and say 'This is what we're going to do, and how we're going to go about doing it.'"
Johnson said his ultimate goal is to win the election, but first he wants to be allowed to participate in the presidential debates, which traditionally only feature the two candidates from the major parties.
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Cayman Islands premier scrapping income tax on expatriates
KINGSTON, Jamaica The Cayman Islands is scrapping a plan to impose a direct income tax on thousands of expatriates working in the British Caribbean territory that is famed as a no-tax financial center.
Premier McKeeva Bush issued a terse statement late Monday saying that his proposed tax was "off the table and will not be implemented." He did not say what alternative revenues might replace it.
The islands leader said only that his administration was "satisfied that many of the commitments from the private sector" will meet his demands for a new source of revenue for the government that wont hit the poorest citizens. He has been huddling with business leaders in recent days.
Zero direct taxation, friendly regulations and the global money they lured have transformed the tiny British territory into the worlds sixth largest financial center, with $1.6 trillion officially booked international assets.
Bush announced in late July that he planned to impose a direct tax on expatriate workers income Sept. 1 to bail the territorial government out of a financial hole and to meet Britains demand that Cayman diversify its sources of revenue beyond the work permit fees, duties and other fees it now relies on.
He later said the annual income threshold would be $36,000, which would have affected about 5,870 expatriates. He described it as a "community enhancement fee" rather than a tax.
The proposal outraged many people, who said the tax would be discriminatory and could destroy the islands main economic anchor.
On Tuesday, many expatriates were still left guessing about what the new revenue measures would include.
"The only reaction is confusion as the uncertainty continues. At least he has removed this one tax that would have been our death sentence," said Grand Cayman real estate broker Kim Lund, who added that several deals fell through after Bush announced the tax plan.
Some wealthy expatriates had said they planned to leave Grand Cayman, where accountants, lawyers and other skilled professionals work in coastal offices looking out on clear, blue seas.
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Cayman Islands drops plan to tax foreign workers' income
GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands (Reuters) - The Cayman Islands has dropped plans to impose an income tax on foreign workers nearly two weeks after proposing it in a last-ditch effort to overcome budget woes.
The Cayman Islands, which has had no income tax, is known as a tax haven for the mega-rich. The irony of imposing the tax was not lost on the financial industry workers who came out in droves to protest a measure that they said could hurt the industry that has made the beach-lined British territory one of the richest in the Caribbean.
The unprecedented proposal - called a "community enhancement fee" - would have imposed a 10 percent tax on foreign workers earning more than US$43,200, amended from US$24,000 when it was initially announced.
Critics said the proposal would cost the territory its primary competitive edge and send international investors to other jurisdictions with lower business costs.
Following an urgent discussion with several high-profile business leaders, Cayman Islands Premier McKeeva Bush said on Monday that alternate revenues had been identified.
"The tax would be taken off the table if robust, credible and sustainable revenue that did not hurt the poorest members of our islands was found. We are satisfied that many of the commitments from the private sector will meet these criteria," he said.
Neither he nor the business leaders identified those revenues but they were expected to be revealed at a public meeting on Wednesday night.
Several industry associations released statements opposing the tax. The outcry also was reflected in the Facebook page Caymanians & Expats United Against Taxation, which collected over 11,000 members in less than a week. The Cayman population is about 53,000.
While foreign workers make up about 50 percent of the Cayman labor force, there were plenty of loopholes that would have excluded the majority of the top earners in the territory as well as civil servants, leaving the bulk of the payroll tax burden to middle-income workers in the private sector.
Experts said the amount of extra revenue the new payroll tax would have brought in would not be enough to overcome the government's growing deficit problems.
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Firefighters beat back Canary Islands blazes, Spain on alert
Firefighters made strides Tuesday against wildfires on Spain's Canary Islands that charred parts of a protected forest, but with a heatwave forecast the country was on alert for more blazes.
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Firefighters beat back Canary Islands blazes, Spain on alert
Community Health Centers fill crucial role
Community Health Centers stand ready to provide high-quality primary health care to thousands more Tennesseans under the new health-care reform law - the Affordable Care Act.
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Cigna Honored at White House for Efforts to Reduce Health Care Disparities
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Cigna (CI) was one of nine organizations that U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, MD, MBA, recognized today for efforts to reduce health care disparities. The recognition came at a special roundtable at the White House hosted by the Department of Health and Human Services, the White House Business Council and the National Business Group on Health (NBGH).
Dr. Christina Stasiuk, Cigna's national medical director for health disparities, accepted the Surgeon Generals Medallion on behalf of Cigna and its Health Disparities Council, including council co-chair Peggy Payne, M.A., and council lead Brooke Tomblin, MPH. The medallion is awarded in recognition of exceptional achievements that advance the cause of public health and medicine.
Health disparities are differences in rates of disease, health outcomes or access to health care that are related to many factors, such as gender, age, geography, race/ethnicity, education, income, language, culture, literacy, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. For example, Mexican Americans have nearly twice the rate of diabetes compared to the general population, while African American men have 1.5 times the rate of high blood pressure. More women will die within one year of their first heart attack than men. Health disparities have many causes, including communications barriers, cultural beliefs and practices, medical bias, variations in access to and quality of care, low health literacy and social causes.
We are honored to accept this award and recognition from the Surgeon General of the United States, and Cigna will continue to advance this important work in partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services, the White House Business Council and the National Business Group on Health, said David Cordani, Cigna's president and chief executive officer. We believe that all of the people Cigna serves should have access to high quality care and an equal opportunity to enjoy good health. Thats why were working to remove cultural, linguistic and other barriers, connecting people to meaningful health information and studying new ways to engage people in health improvement. This work reflects Cignas commitment to diversity and inclusion, and is core to our belief that we must treat each customer as a unique individual.
We are thrilled and grateful that the Surgeon General has honored Cigna and the other organizations that we have recognized over the past two years for their innovative programs to reduce health disparities, said Helen Darling, president and CEO of the National Business Group on Health. Good health for the entire population is crucial to quality of life, our standard of living, productivity and the nations overall success. Its especially important that health service companies take an active role in working to reduce health disparities and Cigna's leadership in this area is commendable.
In March, NBGH honored Cigna with its Award for Innovation in Reducing Health Care Disparities. Todays event was an opportunity to further recognize Cigna and other organizations that NBGH has honored during the past two years, and it provided an opportunity for these organizations to share their experiences and successes with one another, and discuss ideas for continuing the work to reduce health care disparities.
Cigna launched its Health Disparities Council in 2008. It comprises more than 200 employee volunteers from across the companys departments who facilitate the exchange of ideas, share knowledge, and identify internal and external opportunities to address health care disparities in culturally sensitive and medically appropriate ways.
A key part of Cigna's work has been improving the cultural competency and linguistic sensitivity of its staff. More than 20,000 employees have completed cultural competency training and all bilingual employees are tested for proficiency. The company has also adapted into Spanish and traditional Chinese its Words We Use guide for simpler communications.
The company has collaborated with organizations such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundations Finding Answers program and RAND Corporation to conduct health disparities research. The Finding Answers study, which focused on high blood pressure, showed that people respond to health communications that are tailored to them. People enrolled in the study who had slightly elevated blood pressure were far more receptive to the health message than were people with higher blood pressure.
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Cigna Honored at White House for Efforts to Reduce Health Care Disparities
More Companies Offer Perks To Lose Pounds As Incentives To Stay Healthy Increase
More employers are offering financial incentives to get workers into wellness programs, fitness classes or gyms and demanding to see improvement before they reward the workers with cash. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Though most U.S. employers regularly greet their workers with a bigger and bigger tab for health care, they are also [...]
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More Companies Offer Perks To Lose Pounds As Incentives To Stay Healthy Increase
What's the right medical choice for you? Going to the best place for your problem
What's the right medical choice for you? Going to the best place for your problem
We all know that health care is important, but it is also confusing.
When you have an ailment, where do you go? Where is the best place to get help as quickly as you need it and care that matches the severity of your problem?
As an emergency medicine specialist, I know that patients need help to know where they need to go to receive the care they need.
When patients are educated and empowered, they can assume responsibility to make the right decision about cost, location and medical need. Everyone agrees that health care needs more efficiency, and empowering patients with knowledge is where it starts.
Bravo to many businesses, both large and small, that are now taking measures to ensure that their employees better understand their insurance offerings. The rising cost of health care is related to ill-informed provider choices that are contributing to higher premiums and a higher cost of care.
Bravo to insurance companies for offering patients more tools to help them make the right decision. Many companies now have tools available that help patients get an idea of the price of a procedure before they go for care. This is progress, and more transparency in pricing is coming.
Bravo to doctors for educating their patients about the different levels of care available. From a patients perspective, understanding where to go is an important first step.
Barring a 911-type emergency, patients need to see their primary care physician as a first choice. You can think of your primary care doctors office as your front door into the health care system.
But what can patients do if their primary care doctor is not available, or they need emergency care? If you have a choice (and, again it isnt a life-threatening emergency), you have three options.
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What's the right medical choice for you? Going to the best place for your problem
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