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

Abstract

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.