New York City Doctor Launches TravelMD, A Newly Redesigned Healthy Travel Website

A newly redeveloped, regularly updated medical website for travelers going abroad or coming to New York City was launched today in New York. Travelers now have fresh, new medical and destination information at a glance in an easy to navigate website designed by one of New York City's premier travel medicine experts.

September 2, 2003 -- Dr. Ronald A. Primas, a New York City based internist and travel medicine specialist, the American Academy of Home Care Physicians (AAHCP) 2002 House Call Doctor of the Year today launched a completely redesigned comprehensive website for travelers. Whether a business traveler or leisure traveler visiting or planning to visit New York City and needing up the minute weather reports and forecasts, influenza or allergy alerts, New York City bus and subway maps, NYC events, or an adventure traveler going abroad and needing pre-travel advice or visa requirements, TravelMD.com is a traveler's one stop for information. It is updated regularly and has an updated quarterly newsletter on how to stay healthy while traveling.

Says Dr. Primas;"This site was designed to meet any and all needs of travelers everywhere. We see over three thousand travelers a year and have responded to their needs. For patients seen at our Travelers Wellness Center who are going abroad, we've added first aid advice, a multilingual translator, a customizable currency converter, an international cyber café directory, and even a link to get their passports online quickly as well as a link to purchase travel insurance and travel protection products. Traveling, while rewarding, is stressful enough. We've designed our site to give our patients peace of mind by covering all of our bases. There is even a public service section where there are links to public service announcements and even a link where someone can feel good and contribute to their favorite charitable organization."

"Our international travelers find solace in knowing they can e-mail us directly from our site from anywhere on the planet where there is internet access and we will address their specific concerns. It (TravelMd.com) is an easy name to remember and patients don't have to be concerned about our email address if they lose our card. Some of our patients have e-mailed us digital images of skin lesions and Dr. Primas correctly diagnosed the patient and told them what treatment to get at a local pharmacy (in Thailand and Ghana). One patient was even sophisticated enough to e-mail us an mp3 file with her breath sounds and Dr. Primas was able to tell it was a pneumonia and referred her on to a local physician as part of his international network of physicians for treatment. It is the ultimate in telemedicine!" says office manager Sheila Martinez.

"The site has been four years in the making and it addresses many of the requests our patients have asked of us." says Dr. Primas. "Patients who have been confined to their hotel rooms have told us how bored they are being confined to bed and how disappointed they are that they couldn't shop for souvenirs. We added links to a site where they can play games, send free e-postcards and even added links to sites where they can order NYC souvenirs, posters and other NYC related items. It is a very interesting and fun site and can be translated into eight different languages instantly via our link. The site averaged about 40,000 hits a month, and that was before the redesign!"

Dr. Primas has been doing house calls since 1993 and founded N.Y. Hotel Urgent Medical Services in April 1997 and TravelMD.com in May 1998. Dr. Primas and his team of internists, family practitioners, pediatricians and surgeons are available 24 hours a day including holidays for home/hotel or office visits and have a 24-hour urgent care center available by appointment. If someone is ill at 2:00 a.m., someone from the team will be there to assist. Whether an ill tourist, native New Yorker or homebound elderly patient, this comprehensive service is always available and much health related information is always available on our website.