Though many of us have never seen a doctor on a house call, we all likely think fondly of the idea. A kindly doctor, who takes his or her time, focuses on what matters most: the patient. The scenes in shows like Marcus Welby, MD, are ones with no shots of frantic frustrated calls with insurers, or of overworked providers juggling 20+ patients with administrative responsibilities. That era is long gone, if it ever existed. Or is it?

Recent investments in startups focusing on house call companies portends a potential return of the kindly doctor with a black bag. Except in the new future the doctor will be capitalizing on technology to speed many of the time consuming administrative tasks. We, as a society, have grown increasingly accustomed to food, groceries, and shopping being brought to us; perhaps the leap to bringing a doctor to our door is not such a long one, then.

The appeal, though, is not just nostalgia. Some of the arguments that have brought investment to these startups include the obvious convenience factor, but one startup argues that its service has reduced urgent care and emergency department visits by as much as 71%, and saved a half a million dollars in overall healthcare costs.

For purposes of this blog, what does this mean for the quality of care? Ideally providers get a better sense of a patient’s symptoms and complaints while they can see them in their natural environment. That visit may allow more opportunity to connect with patients, again, comfortable in their own home. Certainly, patients will have fewer “no shows” in this scenario, and perhaps even some who are uncomfortable with doctors offices may be more willing to bring one into their own home.

On the other hand, doctors who see patients coming to them are commonly overworked and overstressed; this model is asking the doctors to commute (in traffic!) from patient to patient. How many patients will a provider be expected to see in a day? Who are the providers these startups are hiring to provide care? And how much continuity of care will there really be?

Call us cynics, but the idea may sound better than its actual execution. Perhaps larger, more established medical care systems will dip their toes further into the pool, and the door-to-door health care delivery model will benefit from the solid foundations of established health systems.

It is early to tell if this idea will take hold and whether it will actually improve delivery of health care.

Read the original article here: [Heal, a medical house calls startup, acquires Doctors on Call](https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/heal-a-medical-house-calls-startup-acquires-doctors-on-call/563573/)