"The Rise Of House Calls" - Lola Butcher
About two million older Americans are effectively homebound because of their health, but fewer than 12 percent receive primary care services at home. But as the concept of value gains traction in health care, home-based primary care for frail and elderly patients is proving itself to be a winner. The nation’s largest payer – Medicare – is finding that house-call providers in the Independence at Home shared savings demonstration are saving the government money. Linda DeCherrie, MD, associate professor of geriatrics and palliative medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and director of the Mount Sinai Visiting Doctors Program, who directs the largest academic house-call program in the country, believes that the payment hurdle is about to be crossed, prompting home-based primary care for frail and elderly patients to spread quickly. “There is a lot of movement right now to be able to pay for house calls,” said DeCherrie. “Provider organizations need to get ready because this is really better care for patients, ideally at less cost, and this is what patients want.”
- Linda DeCherrie, MD, Associate Professor, Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Director, Mount Sinai Visiting Doctors Program, Program Director, Primary Care Internal Medicine Residency Program, The Mount Sinai Hospital