This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Services Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire PubMed PubMed Citation

The Future History of Home Care and Physician House Calls in the United States

^a Schools of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
^b Schools of Hygiene and Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland

Bruce Leff, Associate Professor of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Geriatrics Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 5505 Hopkins Bayview Circle, Baltimore, MD 21224 E-mail: bleff{at}jhmi.edu.

Decision Editor: John E. Morley, MB, BCh

Over the last 20 years, home care has experienced significant change. The home care industry developed into big business and a number of innovative models of home care were developed and evaluated. Although physicians perform many fewer house calls than a half-century ago, there has been a recent revival in house-call training, education, and practice. In addition, telemedicine and other technologies hold great promise for the future of home care. However, the future history of home care will depend mostly on the ability of various stakeholders in the health care system to recognize the value of home care and develop and implement the appropriate incentives to encourage its proper place in the U.S. health care system.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. H. Landers, P. W. Gunn, S. A. Flocke, A. V. Graham, G. E. Kikano, S. M. Moore, and K. C. Stange Trends in House Calls to Medicare Beneficiaries JAMA, November 16, 2005; 294(19): 2435 - 2436. [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Jauhar House Calls N. Engl. J. Med., November 18, 2004; 351(21): 2149 - 2151. [Full Text] [PDF]