Remember the days when local families could call the community doctor and request treatment in their own homes? Was it only on television that physicians would travel to meet the needs of their patients, wherever they happened to need their help? What changed in our medical community so that now patients must travel long distances, deal with traffic, expose themselves to more illness and wrangle with insurance companies in order to receive treatment? Although there has been substantial progress made within the medical community, many doctors will agree that the personal touch of the medical house call practice has been lost along the way. In turn, an increasing number of physicians are wondering how they can move out of the office and into the home as a house call doctor.

A medical house call practice has traditionally been viewed as a niche practice, or perhaps even viewed with condescension by physicians who practice in an office. This is changing, however, as doctors begin to recognize the benefits of seeing patients outside of their offices. Many of these house call doctors do not take insurance or perform intricate diagnostic or surgical procedures, drastically reducing their overheads along the way. Therefore many doctors who run medical house call practices find that they are able to net as much—and often much more—with this type of practice than with a more traditional medical office.

Patients also find that medical house call practices lend themselves to a more satisfying and enjoyable experience. A doctor is often able to come to your home the same day as you call for an appointment, saving you the wait of scheduling an appointment in an office. Many older patients will also appreciate the fact that they do not have to drive to their appointment, which is one of the reasons why these same patients may choose to avoid a doctor’s appointment in the first place. Patients of a house call doctor do not have to wait for a busy doctor in an uncomfortable office; instead they are able to spend the time in comfortable clothes, in the familiarity of their own homes. When a house call doctor agrees to come to the homes of very sick patients, he or she is also saving that ill person from the possibility of infecting others when they travel to an office. Finally, house call doctors are often able to visit as long as necessary with their patients, providing insightful education and comfort to those they are treating. This is perhaps the most welcome aspect of a medical house call practice, and is the reason most often stated by patients who receive care in their homes.

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