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Are House Calls Making A Comeback?

The house call might be coming back, in a big way. (Carsten Koall/Getty Images)
The house call might be coming back, in a big way. (Carsten Koall/Getty Images)

Long ago, doctors visited the sick instead of the other way around. In our modern era of crowded waiting rooms, it’s hard to believe there ever was another way. Yet, this may soon change.

Due to a growing older population and rising medical costs, the doctor home visit is getting a second look. The Affordable Care Act is funding a three-year pilot project called Independence at Home that provides physician home visits for selected Medicare patients.

From the Here & Now Contributors Network, WHYY’s Pulse contributor — and Drexel medical student — Avir Mitra details how the house call’s intimate connection between doctor and patient may, indeed, be the medical innovation of tomorrow.

Reporter

  • Avir Mitra, reporter for WHYY in Philadelphia. He tweets @avirrr.

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