Robert J. Haggerty

The University and Primary Medical Care

Abstract Primary medical-care programs are legitimate and central concerns of every university medical school. Sufficient engagement in the community to learn how better to meet the needs of large numbers of patients who are now without care is necessary, but overcommitment to service programs should be avoided. The role of the university is to develop new programs, study them and especially teach within them. Health-services research offers an intellectually rewarding and academically legitimate field for faculty members engaged in this area. They should use the knowledge developed in such research to help forge public policy for health, but only to the degree that they have data. When they move beyond the data they cease to be experts. Some must seek to combine the difficult tasks of remaining experienced clinicians, doing research, advising on public policy and teaching. Of these, teaching is the unique function of the university and must be a part of any university primary-care program.

Home Accidents in Childhood.

THE following and many similar headlines startle parents and physicians daily: Girl Dead, Boy Blinded by Antifreeze; Three Small Children Perish in Home Fire; and Boy, Two, Dies in Two-Story F...

Blue Baby Due to Methemoglobinemia

IN addition to congenital heart disease, with right-to-left shunts, and chronic lung disease, cyanosis in babies can be caused by methemoglobinemia. The congenital variety, of course, is lifelong, ...

The immunization and tuberculin-testing status of certain selected families.

MANY families and some physicians seem to have been lulled into a false sense of security regarding their health by the advent of so-called miracle drugs, new vaccines, more hygienic living conditions and comprehensive insurance plans. They frequently forget the continuing need for routine immunizations and tuberculosis testing. As an example, within the past year we have observed an unimmunized grandmother living in Boston with her children and grandchildren in whom diphtheria developed. Despite this, some members of the family were not subsequently immunized. In an effort to teach medical students the importance of maintaining commonly accepted health-protection measures in .xa0.xa0.