Mark,

I like your research topic. I am a person that unfortunately suffer from migraines and I often have to access the emergency room.

The main reason I go to the ER is because I am never able to get in and see my doctor until its too late. A couple of months ago I tried to make an appointment to see my doctor and was told that she was booked for six weeks! That was ridiculous and of course the other doctor covering for her didn't have any appts available because he was covering for her.

I also find that the care I receive in the ER is a lot better. I have been a migraine sufferer for 5 years. In a span of 6 months I was in the ER probably more than 10 times to get shots for my migraines. During this time I had also been to my primary care doctor to find out what was going on...of course I was just given meds and told to go to the ER if I couldn't deal with the pain. The ER is the only place that has ever bothered to do CAT Scans and other tests. I think the reason for this is that the ER doctors have much more important cases to attend to and are looking for a long term solution to the problem so they don't have to deal with it and can work on the more pressing matters...car wrecks, heart attacks, rapes, assaults, etc.

Nikki