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House Call Resurgence in U.S. Medicine

Article submitted by Debra Ashby of Visiting Physicians.
For more information, she can be reached at 847-385-8040.

For most seniors the earliest memory of a doctor does not involve a sterile office but the warmth of their own home. Until the 1950's, the majority of healthcare in the USA was provided at home. Over the next two decades, changes in technology and reimbursement lead to the virtual demise of the house call.

Many will be pleasantly surprised to find that technology and reimbursement have led to a rebirth of the home physician visit in the 21st Century. As medical equipment as become smaller and more portable, it has become practical for doctors to make an effective house call again. At the same time, the growing population of frail elderly has created enough demand that doctors can build a practice around their special needs.

Doctors and patients alike benefit from:

With improved Medicare reimbursement for homebound patients, doctors not only can provide care for more people who need it, they feel that this is the type of healthcare they always wanted to provide. Spending 30-60 minutes with a single patient (most visiting physicians see only 8-12 per day) leads to better care and more satisfaction than the typical 30-40 patients that are rushed through in a typical office day.

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