Do doctors still make house calls where you live?

Killing Floor

Doctor of Teleocity
Silver Supporter
Joined
Feb 3, 2021
Posts
12,188
Location
Austin, TX
Mrs Floor and I have had medical appointments at home with our doctors. So do our kids when they’re here. We are able to do them through the typewriter-television. I call it the typovision.
 

Kandinskyesque

Friend of Leo's
Joined
Dec 6, 2021
Posts
2,525
Location
Scotland
I have an NHS Occupational Therapist, a Physio and a community nurse visiting me at home around every 2 weeks, some weeks, like last week, I have all three on different days.

This week I'll see none of them, but on Saturday I'll go to see my Neuropsychologist (private sector) at his surgery, but he also visits me at home about every six months to see how I'm coping "in the field".

About twice per year the NHS Psychiatrist visits me at home, in a supervisory role for the community therapists but will also review me and my meds at that time.

During my dodgier health episodes, my NHS GP/MD will occasionally call in to my home because I'm on his route home, he does some other house calls over and above mine.

I'm 15 miles from the health centre and the catchment area for the practice is a 45-minute drive from one end to the other (I've no idea how many square miles it covers).

One of my sisters and her husband are GP/MDs and live 15 miles away but they don't even visit socially. I don't blame them they're both overworked in busy urban practices and have young kids.

If I was a horse...
 

Boxla

Tele-Holic
Joined
Aug 25, 2017
Posts
970
Age
48
Location
Jahmerica
Not in general but there are doctors is most larger cities that do go to homes. They have clever names such as MD2U, Doc2U etc.. It's making a comeback. There are also concierge physicians which is getting bigger by the day.

There's also a big difference between home health nurses etc. who visit, and an M.D. making house calls.
 

Guitarzan

Poster Extraordinaire
Joined
Feb 28, 2006
Posts
7,956
Location
Hotlanta, GA
The number of them doing housecalls here has increased in the last 3 years under concierge medicine due to the circumstances.

Videoconference visits have increased as well.

Young physicians stating a family medicine practice would probably find a profitable path by doing housecalls and video calls for private patients and performing physicals at home for executive insurance purchases to avoid all the overhead that goes with a conventional practice.

I knew some young doctors years ago that used to do those physicals for insurance companies. They would go to an executive's house and perform on in less than an hour get paid about $100 per physical way back then. They did several per week.
 

warrent

Friend of Leo's
Joined
Sep 15, 2009
Posts
4,472
Location
toronto
For seniors in Toronto there are health services that provide Doctors and Nurses if you qualify. When my mother was dying a few years back she had a doctor come once every two weeks to the house for about a year and a half at no charge and a nurse once a week.
 

jackinjax

Friend of Leo's
Joined
Sep 11, 2016
Posts
3,254
Location
Jacksonville
Growing up our family doctor visited me when I had strep throat and a105 temperature. Nothing unusual for him. He and his wife paid us a house call nearly every Friday night.... to play cards with my folks. He and Dad played golf at a local par 3 two or three times a month, and 18 holes at the country club at least once a month, weather permitting. The doctor and his Mrs always ate Thanksgiving dinner with us and at least dropped by during the Christmas holidays.
He delivered our daughter no charge. Upon admittance the hospital asked for a $200 deposit...I got a little over $50 back when we checked out.
He and Mrs Knight were sorta like family members except that most of my real family members would probably have charged for delivering my daughter.
 

hnryclay

Tele-Holic
Joined
Nov 30, 2020
Posts
783
Age
43
Location
Virginia
Yes, but I pay my doctor in a concierge practice. It gives me access 24 hours a day, and the ability to schedule home visits.
 

GGardner

Friend of Leo's
Joined
Jun 22, 2017
Posts
4,095
Location
NJ
Although I have to say Zoom doctor visits are pretty great, and very convenient for everyone involved.
Agreed! Telehealth will be a real game-changer, and not just for routine physical ailments. It will make treatment more available for those in need of mental health and addiction services who wouldn't otherwise access a provider (for whatever reason).
 

BigDaddyLH

Tele Axpert
Ad Free Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2009
Posts
64,796
Location
Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
Agreed! Telehealth will be a real game-changer, and not just for routine physical ailments. It will make treatment more available for those in need of mental health and addiction services who wouldn't otherwise access a provider (for whatever reason).

Better for some things than other things: "okay, now use your lighter to sterilise the blade of your pen knife."
 

JDC

Tele-Holic
Joined
May 9, 2003
Posts
724
Location
Mesa, Arizona
Although I haven't seen it air, lately, there used to be a T.V. commercial running, here, for a medical house call business business claiming the same price as a trip to a Quick-Care. I never get the impression that it was staffed by an M.D (or D.O.) but then, the Quick-Care nearest me is staffed by P.A.s and/or N.P.s and they can do all sorts of procedures.

Do attending physicians even make hospital rounds anymore? When I was hospitalized, 30 years ago, my personal physician would show up at least once a day. After surgery last year, it seems as if I was assigned a doctor employed by the hospital (hence the title "Hospitalist"?) who oversaw my case while I was there.
 

ahiddentableau

Tele-Afflicted
Joined
Jul 8, 2018
Posts
1,283
Location
Middle of Nowhere
Phone visits are now common where I am. It's a mixed bag. If you have a chronic condition it's fantastic because you no longer have to go to the office just to get an rx refill or conduct routine matters/follow-up. But they want to do everything via telemedicine now, so lots of people who really should be seeing a doctor in person either don't get treatment at all or end up spending even more time in the queue because they end up needing two appointments instead of just one.
 




New Posts

Top