Nvidia Supercomputer At Forefront of Autonomous Driving Taxis
Nvidia Supercomputer At Forefront of Autonomous Driving Taxis
As my blog followers are already aware I am a Baltimore Chiropractor with two clinics where we focus on acute musculoskeletal rehab. We see patients with typically axial spine pain – headaches, neck pain, and back pain. More and more of our patients coming in have been injured as a result of motor vehicle collisions and Baltimore auto accidents. While I appreciate the opportunity to take care of injured citizens, it is becoming clear that we need to cut down on the number of injuries that we see. The roads are getting more and more congested each day with drivers. When you factor in human error, mechanical error, and distracted driving its no surprise that we are seeing more Baltimore auto accidents than ever before. In fact, on the way to work I was nearly hit twice along my twenty minute commute. Its scary out there!
Many technology companies are eager to solve this problem by creating semi-autonomous vehicles. Computer chip company Nvidia hopes to take it one step further by next year. They recently unveiled a new supercomputer codenamed Pegasus that it claims is capable of handling all of the complex calculations necessary to create a level 5 autonomous vehicle. To be clear, this means that there would be no need for a steering wheel, foot pedals, or mirrors. A truly “Jetsons” like experience where the car reacts in real time to all of the other vehicles on the roads.
Uber has been toying around with this technology with various degrees of success. You can read more about that in past blog posts. The difference here is that in the uber vehicles, the entire trunk is filled with servers and sensitive hardware to detect obstacles and other vehicles. Nvidia’s Pegasus is only about the size of a license plate and is expected to be able to handle 320 trillion calculations per second! What’s more is it isn’t expected to require the degree of power that the current technology is using, making fleets of vehicles that are more fuel or electrically efficient than ever before.
Its way too early to know for sure if this Pegasus card can deliver on its promises. In addition to use in robo-taxis and in other ride share applications, other companies can supposedly use this technology for package delivery. A UPS driver could walk down the street with packages in hand for three buildings and then at the end of the block his vehicle could be waiting for him, ready to deliver the next block’s packages.
This technology if perfected and safe could change not only the way we drive but the way we receive consumer goods. It could be truly revolutionary. But is it safe? Will laws catch up with technology to allow for it to become ubiquitous? What you get behind the wheel of a vehicle you couldn’t operate? Who would be responsible if there was a malfunction?
If you, or someone you know, has been injured as a result of a Baltimore auto accident, please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic at (443) 842-5500. We would be happy to get you back on the road to recovery!
Dr. Gulitz
BY: Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab
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Traveling for the Holidays? Tips for Sleeping on an Airplane
Traveling for the Holidays? Tips for Sleeping on an Airplane
As my avid blog readers are already aware, I am a Baltimore Chiropractor with two clinics in Baltimore. We will soon be announcing the location and grand opening of our third location – more details to come in a few short weeks! Its only 18 days until I’m set to get married and as as result I’ve been busier than ever trying to keep the clinics growing and preparing for my wedding and honeymoon. If you’re anything like me you probably don’t sleep well on airplanes. From the tight cramped quarters, to the uncomfortable seats and the turbulence it can be difficult to get some good quality shut eye on a plane. I was doing some research for myself as I prepared for my honeymoon and I figured I’d pass along some good tips that I came across in my research.
- The first tip is an obvious one. If you can afford first class/business class accommodations by all means do so. The seats are wider, they recline more (in some cases completely flat), and you can stretch out more comfortably with typically only two people per row. If those aren’t in your price range, try and get on the plane first to get emergency exit row seating. They typically offer a few extra inches of leg room.
- Leave plenty of foot room under the seat in front of you. Don’t cram the space with bags. Stretch your legs as much as you can and as often as you can to help promote proper blood flow during long flights.
- Walk around – Once the captain has removed the seat belt sign don’t be shy about walking about the cabin. The walking helps to promote blood flow and prevent clots. For any flight over 3 hours you should get up and use the restroom at least once to make sure you don’t put yourself in harms way.
- Use pillows to prevent muscle fatigue. Whether it be a neck pillow (that look like soft horseshoes), or lumbar support, try to make yourself as comfortable as possible.
- The best choice for sleeping is the window seat. Unlike the middle and aisle seats you won’t have to get up during the flight to move if someone else has to use the restroom, which will allow you to sleep more peacefully. Also, there will be a wall you can lean against if you crumple your jacket or bring a pillow.
- If you have to choose between leaning forward and sleeping on the seat-back tray or reclining backwards you should always recline backwards.This decreases pressure on your neck and back when you sleep so you can awake refreshed.
- Be prepared to sleep – You can easily purchase a sleeping mask and/or earphones to help drown out airline noise. While they look silly they can distract you enough to help you get some rest.
- Don’t drink too much alcohol or take any sedatives. While these substances may work short term they rob you of restorative sleep which can make you groggy. You should do your best to get sleep as close to your natural sleeping habit as possible.
While this is in no way an exhaustive list of the do’s and don’ts of how to get better sleep on an airplane there are a lot of good tips here. Typically this time of year between Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year we see lots of patients who don’t take this advice and they arrive in Baltimore with neck and back pain. Don’t become one of them! Review these tips prior to your departure to help ensure a more comfortable flight and a pain-free trip.
If you, or someone you know has neck or back pain, please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic. We would be happy to help!
Dr. Gulitz
BY: Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab
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I Got Injured At Work…Now What?
I Got Injured At Work…Now What?
As my avid blog followers are aware I am a Baltimore Chiropractor with two chiropractic clinics in Baltimore. We focus on treating and rehabilitating acute musculoskeletal disorders. Typically we see a lot of trauma in our offices. Patients have either been hurt while participating in sports, while working, or while driving. A lot of these acute injures require treatment immediately following the injury. Often times patients come to ask questions about what rights they have following an acute injury. What steps should they be taking to protect their rights? Who will pay for their needed care? What is the process outlined from start to finish?
In our everyday lives we have a decent understanding of the process when it comes to using health insurance. That is, we go to the doctor when we are sick. Then, tests are ordered, results reviewed, and treatment and/or medications are given. We understand that process because we’ve been through it in our lives countless times. But what happens if you are hurt at work? What steps do you need to take to make sure your rights are protected? Of course this goes without saying – but I am not an attorney and none of what I’m writing should be considered legal advice. If you have specific questions about a specific case please contact us and we can do our best to refer you to a qualified worker’s compensation attorney who can answer your questions.
So you were injured at work – now what? The first thing you need to do is to inform your employer of the injury. They need to document what you were doing at the time of your injury. They may send you to an urgent care or emergency room for evaluation and treatment. By all means you should head there even during your current shift for prompt diagnosis and treatment. There they can do any blood work, diagnostic testing, and or x-rays, CT scans, and MRIs that may be needed depending on the extent of your injury. The treating provider can either place you on work restrictions (i.e. restricted activity or light duty work responsibilities) or total disability if your injury precludes you from working.
The next step is probably the most important. You need to make sure to make a claim with the Maryland Worker’s Compensation Commission. We’ve had plenty of patients over the years say that they don’t want to open to claim because their employer is “a nice guy” or that “they’ve agreed to pay all the bills.” If I had a nickel for every time I heard that one! Ultimately by filing a claim with the WCC you are protecting your rights as an injured worker – you are not necessarily suing your employer. Since it is legally required for all employers to carry worker’s compensation insurance it is not a big deal to open a claim, as your employer will have coverage already.
Here are some common questions and answers regarding worker’s compensation injuries in Maryland:
1. Do non-citizens and non-residents have rights to file worker’s compensation claims? – Yes they do. Citizenship or lack thereof does not preclude any injured worker from filing a claim. This is the same for motor vehicle collisions (auto accidents) in Baltimore as well.
2. Why should I file a claim? – You want to file a claim to protect your rights as an injured worker. If you do file a claim, you have the right to receive medical treatment. You can choose any provider you want to see. You do not have to go to treatment with a doctor that your employer or their worker’s compensation carrier sends you to. It is your choice where to go. You have the right to be paid 2/3 of your salary during the time that you are not able to work. If you have received permanent impairment such that you might not fully recover, you are entitled to compensation for that injury’s lifetime value. You are also entitled to future medical care if your injury requires it for the rest of your life. But again, the only person who knows how to protect your rights in these scenarios are worker’s compensation attorneys.
3. Can I be fired for opening a worker’s compensation claim? – No you can not. If you are fired for having opened a claim you may have other options and would need to speak to an employment lawyer.
4. Should I use my own health insurance to pay for care during treatment of my worker’s compensation injury? – No you shouldn’t. The Maryland worker’s compensation system is set up in such a way that there should be no out of pocket costs for injured workers. Having to attend chiropractic care and/or physical therapy alongside other medical doctor follow up visits can be costly and time consuming. If you were to use your own health insurance you’d have to come out of pocket for all applicable copays, coinsurances, and deductibles. Even if you did pay out of pocket, once the health insurance company realized that your injuries were the result of a worker’s compensation injury, they’d reject all bills and ask you to pay them back for everything they’ve already paid out on your behalf. So again, its best that you protect your interests by speaking with a worker’s compensations attorney who can advice you of your financial responsibilities if you are injured.
5. Do I need to hire an attorney to handle my Maryland worker’s compensation claim for me? Technically speaking you do not need to. If you were well versed in the proceedings and your rights, then by all means you can represent yourself. However I’ve found that most people are woefully under-prepared to handle their own worker’s compensation proceedings due to filing deadlines and commission hearings. Nearly every commissioner at the Maryland Worker’s Compensation Commissions advises unrepresented injured workers that they should consult with an attorney. These attorneys are specifically trained in handling worker’s compensation claims. There is no cost to hire one on your behalf and they only get paid if and when you receive an award for your injury. So like anything else – the cost of NOT having an attorney may well surpass the cost of having one when you factor in their expertise.
Being injured at work and suffering from a work-related injury is a terrible event. However, getting you back on your feet and back to work does not need to be such a difficult process. If you, or someone you know, has been injured while working and you require rehabilitation for these injuries please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic at (443) 842-5500. We have two convenient locations in Baltimore and we can see you today to get you started on the road to recovery. If you have questions about your rights we can help refer you to a worker’s compensation attorney that can answer your questions and protect your rights.
Dr. Gulitz
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Driver Injured While Working – Is it a Personal Injury or Worker’s Compensation Claim?
Driver Injured While Working – Is it a Personal Injury or Worker’s Compensation Claim?
As my avid blog followers are already aware, I am a Baltimore Chiropractor with two Baltimore chiropractic clinics. In my clinics we focus on treating acute musculoskeletal injuries. We routinely treat patients with acute headache pain, acute neck pain, and acute back pain. While in some instances these presentations are insidious – meaning that the patient does not know where they come from, in many cases these injuries arise from trauma. Sometimes it is lifting a heavy bag of fertilizer while gardening and straining the lower back, in some instances it is a sports injury while play flag football causing neck stiffness, and in many cases it is acute trauma caused by a car accident in Baltimore. After nearly 10 years of practicing as a chiropractor both in Las Vegas, NV and Baltimore, MD I still enjoy the acute rehabilitation of traumatic injuries.
An issue came up late last week in my Fells Point clinic that I thought might serve as a good blog post. We had a new patient come into the office who reported to have injured while driving an errand for her boss at work. She reports that during her regularly scheduled work hours she used a company car to go to a hardware store and pick up supplies. On the way to the hardware store while stopped at a red light her work vehicle was suddenly rear-ended. To make matters more complicated, her vehicle was pushed into a vehicle in front of hers at a light.
My front desk staff is well trained to ask the appropriate questions of incoming new patients. We want to get all of the appropriate information gathering out of the way as quickly as possible so that the injured patient can focus on recovery from their injuries. In this instance, one of my newer staff members asked me if this type of injury would be considered a worker’s compensation injury or if it would be considered a car accident injury. It’s a good question, obviously, since it involved a car accident while working.
The answer is fairly straight forward – in this case, it is both a personal injury and a worker’s compensation injury. That is, when it comes to getting their injuries paid for, this patient has rights both under a personal injury (auto accident) claim and a worker’s compensation claim.
This patient had numerous questions. Which forms should she fill out? With which insurance company? Who should she talk to? Who shouldn’t she talk to? What are her timelines for filling out paperwork? The list went on and on…
I’m not in the business of giving out legal advice since I am not an attorney. We recommended that the patient speak with an attorney to discuss her particular situation. Interestingly, she told us that she had an attorney that she had represent her for an auto accident injury several years in the past. When she called and spoke to this office about her new injuries she was told that the lawyer did not want to represent her since it was both a worker’s compensation claim and a personal injury claim and the law office did not handle worker’s compensation claims. I was able to give her a few names of practices locally that handle both areas of law regularly and the patient decided to schedule a consultation with one for early this week.
Ultimately the practices of personal injury (auto accident) law and worker’s compensation law are complex and ever changing. While I am pretty familiar with both I wouldn’t presume to advise a patient on what to do. In this case we were able to find someone who could answer her questions and make her comfortable so that she could start on the road to healing.
If you, or someone you know, has been injured as a result for an auto accident whether or not you were working, please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic at (443) 842-5500. We would be happy to help you start feeling better today.
Dr. Gulitz
BY: Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab
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Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic Celebrates 5th Anniversary
Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic
Celebrates 5th Anniversary
As my avid blog followers are already aware I am a Baltimore Chiropractor with two Baltimore Chiropractic Clinics. We focus on treating acute injuries such as Baltimore auto accidents that result in whiplash, headaches, neck pain, and back pain. We also treat patients with chronic neck and chronic back pain.
Some may remember that I left a successful practice in Las Vegas, Nevada at the end of 2011 to embark on a journey to create a great practice in the Mid-Atlantic region. I moved to Baltimore without any friends, without any patients, and without any referral resources. Heck, I didn’t even have an office or any equipment! Yet I was clear in my mission and somehow I knew we’d get this far.
I am pleased to announce that we at Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic are celebrating our 5th anniversary in Baltimore. We’ve come along way since the company consisted of me and an office manager. We have blossomed into a 2-location office with 15 employees. We are one of the fastest growing chiropractic/rehab offices in the great Baltimore region. We continue to rank #1 on google and Yelp! for Chiropractic services in Baltimore. I am humbled by the outpouring of support and encouragement from this great community.
I think the next five years will be better than the first five. Be on the look out for additional clinics (announcements coming soon!) and more clinical offerings as we strive to continue to stay at the forefront of chiropractic/rehab in the Mid-Atlantic region.
So once again, sincerely, thank you to everyone who has made this dream possible. My life has been forever changed for the better. I will continue to pay it forward.
Dr. Gulitz
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Dr. Gulitz To Lead Panel Discussion on “The Ins and Outs of Personal Injury”
Dr. Gulitz To Lead Panel Discussion on “The Ins and Outs of Personal Injury”
As many of my avid blog followers are already aware I am a Baltimore Chiropractor with two clinics in Baltimore City. My clinics focus on treating and rehabilitating acute musculoskeletal injuries, such as those typically experienced in Baltimore auto accidents and Baltimore work-related injuries. We also treat patients without acute injuries. Our patients typically present with a myriad of symptoms that include but are not limited to: headaches, neck pain, back pain, radicular neck pain, and radicular lower back pain, etc. Having been a practicing Chiropractor since December of 2008, I have directly participated in the diagnosis and treatment of thousands of personal injury/auto accident patients both in Las Vegas, Nevada and Baltimore, MD. I suppose that makes me somewhat of an expert on the “ins and outs” of personal injury.
The Maryland Chiropractic Association, in an effort to provide more value and support to its constituent chiropractors, started a program called MCA University. This program is meant to attract younger chiropractors in Maryland to attend a series of two hour lectures on a variety of subjects that they may not have a lot of knowledge about, in hopes of supporting them early in their careers as chiropractors in Maryland. The purpose is also to allow for some degree of mentorship – where younger less experienced chiropractors can reach out to colleagues with tons of experience to help them avoid mistakes and pitfalls early in their careers. It is also meant to drive membership in the MCA. I wish this program was available when I was originally licensed in Maryland!
The MCA University courses started a few weeks back with a course in physical therapy. The remaining courses focus on personal injury, med-legal issues in practice, practice building, and billing. Next Thursday I will be leading a panel discussion on the “Ins and Outs of Personal Injury” alongside personal injury attorneys Ross Albers (The Law Office of Ross Albers) and Adam Smallow (The Law Office of Adam M. Smallow). We will discuss personal injury from the perspective of the treating provider as well as personal injury from the perspective of the attorney representing the injured party. It is our hope that lecture attendees will leave with a very clear understanding of how to appropriate diagnose, treat, document and manage injuries typically seen in cases of Baltimore personal injury auto accidents.
Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic is proud to have Dr. Gulitz represent the clinic during this brief lecture series. We are glad that he is being recognized as an up-and-coming leader in the profession in Maryland.
BY: Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab
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New iOS11 Feature “Do Not Disturb While Driving”
New iOS11 Feature “Do Not Disturb While Driving”
As my avid blog readers are already aware I am a Baltimore Chiropractor with two Baltimore chiropractic clinics in Baltimore. We treat patients primarily with headaches, neck and back pain. Sometimes these patients just wake up with stiff necks and stiff backs, other times they are injured playing sports, and even more commonly we see Baltimore auto accident injury patients with these symptoms. Lately we’ve seen an uptick in the number of Baltimore car accident patients that we have been treating in my clinics. I suspect that is due to “relaxed” summer work schedules, vacations, and people wanting to get out and enjoy the nice weather we’ve been experiencing.
I came across an article on the internet that I thought was appropriate for the blog. It deals with the release of iOS11, apples soon-to-be-released next operating system. As people with iPhones already know- as soon as the next iphone gets released with the most up-to-date operating system, older versions of the phone are eligible to update their software as well. Typically there are minor improvements over past updates but once in a while major changes come to the phones worth noting.
When iOS11 rolls it it will have a new feature enabled called “Do Not Disturb While Driving.” Simply put, it is a feature that will sense through blue tooth if you are in a vehicle and it will purposely prevent notifications from reaching you in a car. These notifications appear to be only related to app updates, text messages, and social media updates. I believe phone calls can still come through (to be answered over blue tooth). The purpose of the new feature, as you can imagine, is to keep drivers eyes on the roads and focused on driving rather than staring at a screen.
Apple further notes that even if a phones blue tooth is not engaged it can tell how fast you are moving and it will automatically engage the feature over a certain speed (some estimates are approximately 13 mph). Sure, many people could argue that most traffic in Baltimore never seems to move faster than 13 mph, but I am sure Apple will have a work around for that.
For passengers on a bus or other motor vehicle that are not driving there is an option to press an “I’m not driving button” to disable the feature. That way your designated Pokemon catchers and text message relayers can continue what they were doing despite the fact that the car is in motion.
Apple had recently come under fire for not doing enough to prevent distracted driving. This appears to be their attempt at limiting how many messages can get through to drivers while operating motor vehicles. It’s important to note that this feature is not a “total lockout” of distracted driving. Any contact that is text messaging the driver can use the word “urgent” and it will bypass the feature and alert the driver. Additionally, any contact listed under a “favorite” can bypass the block as well.
At the end of the day, we all share these streets and we owe it to ourselves and our fellow motor vehicle drivers to pay attention and keep our eyes on the road. I appreciate that apple is making this easier for us (I too, have glanced at my phone while driving) but it will come down to the end user to determine if this feature has its desired benefit of limiting Baltimore auto accidents due to distracted driving.
If you, or someone you know, has been injured as a results of a Baltimore car accident, and require treatment for your injuries, please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic at (443) 842-5500. We would be happy to get your back to feeling like yourself again!
Dr. Gulitz
BY: Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab
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Baltimore Amongst Least-Safest Driving Cities in America
Baltimore Amongst Least-Safest Driving Cities in America
As a Baltimore Chiropractor with two chiropractic clinics in Baltimore, MD we see more than our fair share of musculoskeletal complaints. We treat patients with headaches, neck pain, and back pain. In many instances these are our friends and neighbors who play weekend sports and suffer back pain from sports injuries. In many other cases these are our friends and neighbors sitting at a red light in traffic before they get unexpectedly rear-ended by the vehicle behind them driven by a distracted driver. No matter the proximate cause of neck and back pain in Baltimore, Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic has emerged as one of the leaders in Baltimore City and Baltimore county in diagnosing and treating acute neck and back pain injuries.
Each year All-State releases a report of “America’s Best Drivers”. It lists 200 cities in America from safest to least safe in terms of: average years between claims, relative likelihood of claim compared to national average, number of “hard-braking events”, and it ranks all of these cities relative to population density and while accounting for climate conditions.
Before we get to the cities who fared the poorest, lets talk about the winners.
The top 5 safest cities in America are:
1. Kansas City, KS – with an average of 1 crash per 14.9 years
2. Brownsville, TX
3. Madison, WI
4. Huntsville, AL
5. Cape Coral, FL
Now for our “not top 5”, or “Worst Driver’s In America”:
5. Springfield, MA
4. Washington, DC
3. Worcester, MA
2. Baltimore, MD
1. Boston, MA – with an average of 1 crash every 3.6 years
So what does this data tells us?
It appears that the worst cities in America to drive in are in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. Baltimore and D.C., the two major metropolitan regions we serve here, are amongst the worst cities to drive in in the country. I have written similar blog posts in the past regarding the previous years All-State save driving reports. These previous reports seem to indicate the same reasons why, over and over, the same cities appear to have higher crash rates and an increased likelihood of motor vehicle collision.
1. City infrastructure – Anyone who lives in an older city is aware of the tight city streets designed more for horse and buggies than for cars. Additionally, if these other top 5 worst cities are anything like Baltimore they have crumbling city infrastructure with tons of pot holes and that can lead to swerving and poor driving practices.
2. Population density – As the baby boomers and millenials each move to cities in droves population spikes quickly without the resources to account for increased motor vehicle congestion on the roads. If you think parking in Canton after 5 pm is bad, try parking in Boston around Fenway during a Red Sox game.
3. Distracted driving – When was the last time you pulled up to an intersection, glanced over at another car, and didn’t see the other drive glancing down to look at their phones? I see it all the time. A famous online though leader Gary Vaynerchuck recently opined that billboards are or will soon be obsolete because something like 60 percent of drivers are texting and driving. I don’t know if that statistic is true but it wouldn’t surprise me. This also would account for people driving with a cell phone in their hand – which is illegal in Maryland.
4. Poorly planned or executed mass transit – I suspect that NYC would have faired far worse on this list but for its well developed mass transit infrastructure. Although I think the Baltimore LINK bus improvements will help with congestion and traffic, an underground rail would alleviate some of these problems. I don’t know how feasible this mass transit solution would be in older cities such as Baltimore and D.C., but the point is where there are people in cars there are crashes. And where there are crashes, there are injuries.
That’s why the team at Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic is here to help. We treat injuries from motor vehicle collisions and car accidents all day every day. If you, or someone you know, has been injured in a car accident in Baltimore, and has suffered headaches, neck pain, or back pain from a car accident please contact us at (443) 842-5500. We will do our best to get you seen today. We provide on-site digital x-rays and we work closely with local medical physicians if you require a referral for medical care.
So put your phone down and drive safe!
Dr. Gulitz
BY: Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab
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Changing Bus Routes for Our Patients
Changing Bus Routes For Our Patients
As a Baltimore Chiropractor with two Baltimore Chiropractic clinics I pride myself in having easily accessible clinics so that patients can get the care they need quickly and go on with their lives. I’ve never been a proponent of long waits to see our providers. One of the most important considerations when I chose both of my clinic locations was accessibility to public transportation. That is, I wanted to be in highly visible densely populated areas that could serve the masses. In doing so, I made sure that both of my clinics were located on major bus routes. For years, The Fells Point location was served by the #10, #30, and the #13. For the four months that the Park Heights location has been open we were serving the #54, #18, #44, and #53. As time went on certain routes became discontinued and as of 2015 Governor Larry Hogan proposed a major overhaul of the entire MTA system in Baltimore and the surrounding communities, creating Baltimore Link. The goal was to get rid of antiquated and outdated routes and to decrease the congestion especially downtown during peak transit hours.
Baltimore Link went live on Sunday June 18th. That means that all of the familiar routes as listed above no longer exist. Instead, they have been replaced by other new Baltimore Link routes that are supposed to be faster and run more frequently. I have not yet received much feedback from our patients about how they are liking the new routes. I have, however, received a lot of questions about which bus routes will now provide access to the clinics.
I went to http://mta.maryland.gov/baltimorelink to learn more about the Baltimore link project and I found a handy tool called “what happened to my route?”By clicking on it it provides hyperlinks to each individually numbered route and the new Baltimore link route that replaces it. I am going to list out the new routes that serve our offices, but just know that you can do the same for any route if you are curious. Also, you can type in a starting address and ending address and it will integrate with google maps to tell you exactly which routes to take, and where to change, to get there the fastest.
So in no particular order here are the new routes that serve my Baltimore Clinics:
Fells Point Office
#10 – Will be replaced with City Link Navy (NV) (Eastern Ave.)
#13 – Will be replaced with City Link Gold (GD) (Washington St.)
Park Heights Office
#54 – Will be replaced by Local Link #85 (Park Heights Ave.)
#18 – Will be replaced by Local Link #92 (Park Heights Ave.)
#43 – Discontinued
#53 – Will be preplaced by Local Link #83 (Reisterstown Road) – This route used to run on Fallstaff Road but will no longer be running on Fallstaff Road.
While these bus route changes can be confusing to regular riders, the MTA has pledged to have hired extra help to explain the new routes to passengers over the next few weeks as they get accustomed to the changes. Hopefully the routes will indeed be faster and will lead to less congestion. Only time will tell I suppose. But one thing that hasn’t changed is our commitment to being accessible to our patients.
If you, or someone you know, is in need of chiropractic care in Baltimore City or Baltimore county please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic at (443) 842-5500. We would be happy to tell you which bus routes you can take to get to our offices quickly.
Dr. Gulitz
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PIP – The Medical Benefit With No Copay And No Deductible
PIP – The Medical Benefit With No Copay And No Deductible
As many of my blog followers are aware, I am a Baltimore Chiropractor with two offices in Baltimore City. We treat a lot of patients with headaches, neck pain, and back pain. In about half of our patients, these headaches, neck pain, and back pain symptoms result from whiplash due to an auto accident. Typically these patients are sitting at a red light when their vehicle suddenly gets rear-ended. Alternatively, some are driving through intersections with green lights allowing them to do so when their vehicles get violently T-boned by other motor vehicles that fail to yield the right of way. The symptoms of each patient differ depending on their human metrics (age, male vs. female, fit vs. unhealthy, etc), preparedness and awareness of the impending crash, and their vehicle metrics (small vs. large car, etc).
One thing that most of our whiplash patients have in common is their ability to pay for their care with PIP insurance. I have spoken about this insurance benefit several times in my past blog posts. PIP stands for Personal Injury Protection. It is an insurance benefit that you pay for every month if you elect to have PIP coverage in Maryland. Typically PIP is written in amounts of $2,500, $5,000 or $10,000. The PIP benefits are meant for all reasonable, customary, and usual fees associated with auto accident injuries. This includes, but is not limited to, hospital visits, ambulance rides, x-rays and other forms of advanced imaging, chiropractic care, physical therapy, and orthopedic evaluation. It also covers up to 80% of lost wages following an accident if an injured party is placed on temporary work disability. The lost wages payment component is one reason why professionals should care more than the legal minimum amount of coverage on their policy. (How would your finances be impacted if you didn’t work and receive wages for two weeks?)
While these benefits of PIP are well known, the most important part of PIP is that it is a medical benefit with no copay and no deductible in the State of Maryland. My last blog post featured a situation in which a prospective new chiropractic patient asked if we could summarily waive his copay. He said that if we did (his old chiropractor in another state would do it all the time) then he would choose our office for chiropractic care and that if we didn’t he would go elsewhere. I told him that it was illegal for us to waive his copay unless he could prove financial hardship. Needless to say this individual took his business elsewhere. And I understand that. That’s his business and I’m not particularly interested in committing fraud or violating my health insurance contract for a stranger.
If you’ve been injured in a Baltimore auto accident injury and you have PIP, these same issues of copays and deductibles DO NOT APPLY to you. That is, from visit one, you owe no money out of pocket and you have no copay and no deductible for these benefits. These PIP benefits kick in day one with no additional cost to you. (I say no additional cost because if you’ve paid for PIP benefits you’ve already paid for these benefits).
Let me repeat that – in a complex health insurance world where there are rising deductibles and copays and coinsurances there exists only one medical benefit that I can think of that doesn’t require to you to participate financially in paying for your medical care while you are recovering from your injuries and seeking chiropractic care and/or physical therapy. And that is PIP (Ok, technically MEDPAY would also allow for no out of pocket expense in the case of an auto accident injury, but that’s a discussion for another blog post). Every month when you pay for your auto insurance, provided you’ve elected to pay for PIP coverage, you are paying for this benefit. If and when you are injured you can “withdraw” from this fund up to the fund limits, typically $2,500.
The premiums for PIP are very reasonable. I personally carry $10,000 in PIP benefits on my policy and I pay about $100 a YEAR for these benefits. I strong suggest that anyone driving on the roads in the Baltimore City/Baltimore County metropolitan area consider reviewing their policy to determine if they have PIP coverage. It’s only a matter of time until you might need it. And as the saying goes with insurance – its only expensive if you need it and don’t have it.
If you, or someone you know, has been injured as a result of a Baltimore auto accident, please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic at (443) 842-5500. We will be able to tell you what PIP benefits may be available to you to help pay for your care while you treat for your injuries. We would be happy to provide this auto insurance policy evaluation service to you free of charge.
Dr. Gulitz
BY: Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab
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