Docs give new meaning to 'ambulatory' care with house calls

Some physicians have taken their practices on the road.

According to William Swart, a New Jersey family medicine physician board-certified in geriatrics, the main reason old-fashioned house calls fell out of favor--hospitals provided better testing equipment--has been rendered moot by advances in mobile technology. During a home visit today, doctors can provide everything from ultrasounds to EKGs, vascular studies, X-rays, wound care, blood pressure and weight checks.

Swart, who is one of six physicians at Visiting Physician Services, said being in a patient's home also can allow doctors to make other important observations that couldn't occur in the office, such as whether an elderly patient needed to grab a bar in the bathroom or whether a diabetic kept a stash of candy bars in the kitchen, he told MyCentralJersey.com.

And perhaps most appealing to physicians, focusing on house calls means visiting only seven to 10 patients per day, with plenty of time to truly address their needs. "While average in-office visits can last just five minutes, our house calls last an average of 45 minutes ... and the visit ends when the patient is satisfied," said David Greuner of Premier House Call MD, a visiting physician practice based in Manhattan.

For Craig Koniver, owner of ArriveMD, converting the back of an ambulance into a mobile office has offered all of these benefits plus the ability to run a very lean business. "My practice now has very little overhead expenses: gas, some medical supplies, insurance and that's about it," he wrote in Physicians Practice. "No more rent payments or electricity payments or staff salaries. My ambulance has my website and phone number all over it so I literally market myself all over town providing myself instant marketing."

To learn more:
- read the article from MyCentralJersey.com
- read the post from Physicians Practice

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