One of the most iconic images of American physicians is that of a physician carrying his small black bag full of tools and making house calls. In many people’s minds these images are connected to things of bygone eras such as wooden bleachers, baseball fields, and Coca-Cola being served in green glass bottles.
Interestingly, modern doctors are reverting to the “good old days” of medicine. Many are once again making house calls. There are a lot of reasons why doctors find making house calls to be attractive. One reason is because they often get phone calls from patients who simply are too sick to come into the doctor’s office. Another reason is that there are individuals, some of which work at home, who are just too busy to leave work to go to the doctor. They may have a situation that needs medical care, but they simply feel that their schedule is too busy to allow them to get the care they need. Another reason why physicians are seeing the benefits of making house calls is because some of their patients simply do not have access to transportation.
Interestingly, with the right tools, anything that a primary care physician can do for their patients in their office, they can do for their patients at their home or in their place of business. All a physician needs to have is portable medical equipment. With this they can do everything from blood work to electrocardiograms. Some physicians use mobile hospitals such as those created by companies like LifeLine Mobile for example to facilitate bringing their own x-ray machines and other mobile medical devices.
There a lot of benefits to patients when doctors make house calls or when doctors come to them at their place of work. One benefit is that the doctors have more time to devote to the patient. Another is that in addition to seeing the illness that the patient has, a doctor is able to get a feel for the patient’s life and understand the circumstances that might have led up to their sickness.
