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City’s plan aims to cut down ER visits

Patients will be urged to use health centers

By Andrew Ryan

 |  Globe Staff  

  March 06, 2012

Public health officials are pushing to alleviate crowds at Boston’s emergency rooms by redirecting patients without life-threatening ailments to one of the city’s 25 community health centers, where care can be more tailored to individuals and is significantly less expensive. The initiative has established a set of guidelines to facilitate communication between hospitals and community health centers to encourage emergency room patients to seek follow-up care at neighborhood medical facilities.

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