When it comes to healthcare, we often make assumptions about what’s available.
Most of us grew up going to the doctor every time we needed a checkup or had a health issue. This probably involved a car trip or perhaps a trip in the bus. Whatever the approach, we get used to the idea of going to the doctor.
Historically, it hasn’t always been this way.
Instead, it was common practice for doctors to make house calls, especially when the issue was one of urgency.
Even in the modern day, assisted living facilities and senior homes are experimenting with the idea of having on-site nurses and wellness centers to support the health of patients.
But, even for seniors that live at home, going to see the doctor isn’t the only available option. Instead, there are a number of programs out there that provide doctors who make house calls
Now, there is a lot of variation between the programs, along with variation in what is available in your area and what the senior’s insurance covers. However, this is a critical area that shouldn’t be overlooked.
Realistically, having a doctor (and/or other healthcare staff) come to the home makes it so much easier for a senior to get the support that they need.
The Challenges of Going to a Doctor
Healthcare can be a major challenge for seniors and for their caregivers, and this is an issue that can progressively get worse as a person ages. After all, seniors are already susceptible to a wide range of health conditions and may be on a number of different medications. These factors alone can make it difficult to manage the health needs of a senior.
At the same time, there are many issues that can make healthcare even more complicated.
For one thing, many seniors are on medication that needs to be monitored regularly such as the anticoagulant Warfarin/Coumadin. Often this also means that the dose of the medication has to be varied over time based on how the patient is responding to it.
But, perhaps one of the biggest challenges of healthcare for seniors is actually getting them to the doctor’s office in the first place, especially if they do need to go regularly.
One area of difficulty is transportation.
If a senior doesn’t have the ability to drive anymore or doesn’t have access to a vehicle, they have to rely on alternative transport options. Now, there are a lot of options for transportation out there, including relatives, public transportation, and taxis, as well as some programs that support transportation for seniors.
Even with all of these options, transport can still be a major battle, especially if the options in your area are limited.
Another issue is that seniors often struggle with mobility. Some may find it hard to walk or may be only able to walk a short distance at a time. Others may suffer from incontinence issues, which could make going out stressful and potentially embarrassing.
Finally, some seniors are simply stubborn, especially when it comes to health.
For example, a senior might disagree with their caregiver about whether they need to see a doctor. Likewise, they might feel that their symptoms are normal or ‘just part of aging’ when, in fact, the symptoms can be an indication of a more serious health condition.
All of these areas make the process of actually going to the doctor especially challenging, especially if the senior has to go to the doctor’s office frequently. In contrast, doctors who make house calls can make it much easier to take care of a senior’s health.
Programs for Doctors that Visit
There is a range of different programs that offer doctors who make house calls.
However, this type of program is incredibly location-specific, so you do have to shop around a bit to find what is offered in your area. Thankfully, there are a lot of different companies out there that offer doctors who visit the house.
In some cases, these might be independent companies that specialize in this role. In other cases, the services might be provided through a hospital or a normal doctor’s office.
For example, St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany, New York offers a home visiting physicians program that caters for people in Albany and two nearby counties. The service specializes in chronic conditions, such as heart disease, respiratory illness, and diabetes.
They also make the following comment about insurance:
This pattern seems to be similar across most companies I’ve looked at.
Basically, if your insurance covers you going to the doctor’s office it will probably also cover doctors who make house calls, especially for a senior.
With this type of program, the doctor who visits can become your primary care physician and they are able to do most things that a regular doctor’s office will be able to do. I’ve even seen these services do a wide range of tests, including some that you would expect to have to go into an office for.
At the same time, there are a number of pharmacies that follow a similar approach, delivering medication to your home.
As with doctor’s services, there is a wide range of these programs and they vary based on where you are.
Getting medication that way isn’t always ideal if you have something you need urgently. But, for most medications this is an extremely effective approach and it’s worth looking into.
My Personal Experience
I first learned about doctors that visit the home out of necessity. These programs primarily cater for seniors, but in many cases, they also cater for those receiving disability benefits.
In my case, I lived with my mother-in-law and my husband. My mother-in-law faced many of the issues that I mentioned above and getting her to the doctor’s office regularly was a major challenge. At the same time, my husband was disabled and at that point in time leaving the house was a near-impossibility.
So, we looked into programs for doctors who make house calls that would cater for both of them.
We were surprised to find that there were a number of different programs in our area that offered house calls from doctors and medical staff. At the same time, there was a range of other services that the programs offered.
From talking to representatives for a few different programs we found that, in general, it was pretty easy to get a senior into the program. Many programs were also specifically targeted at seniors, their insurance, and their needs. Because of that, it ended up being relatively easy to find a company to cater for my mother-in-law and it took much longer to find one for my husband.
To be honest, my experiences with doctors coming to the house were mixed.
One good thing was the convenience. It was great that we could get medical treatment without having to attempt all of the challenges of transportation. This meant that both my mother-in-law and my husband got more consistent treatment than they had been getting previously, which was wonderful.
In our case, the service worked perfectly for my mother-in-law and I would honestly recommend it to any senior.
The medical staff that visited were all very experienced with senior issues and knew exactly what to expect. They were also good at handling the times when my mother-in-law was stubborn or when there was confusion about her medication.
They even helped us to get in touch with a pharmacy that delivered to the house, which served to make things even more convenient.
The system didn’t work as well for my husband. This seemed to be mostly to do with the fact that they weren’t specialized towards his needs and the fact that his health was pretty complicated anyway.
So, if you were trying to get a doctor to come to the house for anyone who isn’t a senior, I’d suggest doing some research and trying to find a company that doesn’t specialize in seniors.
Beyond that, the other issue we found was communication.
Now, as issues go, that isn’t too surprising – especially as communication can often be an issue with traditional doctor’s offices as well.
In our case, we found that we needed to play a lot of ‘phone tag’, especially when it came to medication, and there were times when the office didn’t call back when we expected them to.
Likewise, the service was fantastic when it came to scheduled appointments but not so good for any urgent needs. One reason for that was that the service had relatively few doctors on staff and a lot of patients. So, it would be at least a few days and possibly a week or more if we needed to see someone urgently.
In most cases, that probably wouldn’t be too much of an issue, because there are always other options for emergency care. But, for us, that wait was an issue, as my husband’s disability made getting him out of the house incredibly difficult and unrealistic.
The issues that we faced with at-home doctors come down to two things.
The main thing was simply that my husband had needs that the services were not really designed to deal with. That would be why the services worked so well for my mother-in-law and not for my husband.
The other thing is that the communication issues we experienced were probably company-specific.
As I mentioned before, there are quite a few different companies out there that offer similar services. So, if you find that one of these doesn’t work for you, it’s likely that an entirely different one will. It’s just a matter of shopping around until you find the right fit.
Should You Look into These Services?
My experiences with doctors that make house calls were mixed but that mainly comes from my specific situation rather than the approach itself.
Personally, I think that being able to get doctors to come out to your house is an incredibly valuable approach, especially for seniors. Plus, in most cases, just about everything the service has to offer will be covered by insurance.
So, if nothing else, it’s worth taking the time and trying out this type of service.
You might find that it doesn’t work for you but you might also find that it is exactly what you need.
I find that this service is especially relevant for seniors who need frequent appointments.
For example, if a senior is on a medication that requires regular testing (like Coumadin), then services like these can let seniors have those tests in the comfort of their own home. That’s much better than dealing with transportation and waiting rooms for a test that takes less than a minute.
If nothing else, having doctors visit decreases the legwork for you along with the challenges in getting a senior to the doctor’s office. If this makes your life a little bit easier or gives you a bit more time for yourself then it may well be worth the effort.
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