New Times, Old Methods

Retro Medicine: Doctors Making House Calls (for a Price) and Location, Location, Location: A Key to Good Health, Too – both from NY Times


Americans will pay for convenience and house calls are certainly that. As a non-medical professional who works around the medical world, I’ve always marveled and shaken my head a bit at the “behind-the-timesness” of the business of practicing medicine. Niche practices like house calls and retail clinics are the sort of value added service angles that non-medical businesses have been cycling through for years -- it’s interesting to see this sort of paradigm shift (or attempt by some to make one). Of course house calls are an old thing , really, in medical practice, but the commonality of the practice was lost in another paradigm shift long ago. I will be watching to see what the insurance companies do about these things. I also wonder what sort of impact these sorts of market changes will have on physicians. What will happen with compensation, hours, malpractice, available jobs, etc??

- WJ