BACKGROUND Physicians house calls to patients have been declining in many countries of the world. The objective of this study was to describe the patterns of utilization of house call services provided by SOS doctors in the area of Attica, Greece. METHODS We performed a retrospective analysis of data regarding house call visits of patients in the area of Attica (metropolitan area of Athens an...

This study describes the short-term relationships between the daily levels of PM10, PM2.5, NO2 and the number of doctors' house calls for asthma, upper respiratory diseases (URD) and lower respiratory diseases (LRD) in Greater Paris for the years 2000-3. Doctors' house calls are a relevant health indicator for the study of short-term health effects of air pollution. Indeed, it is potentially mo...

STUDY OBJECTIVES To identify determinants of patient satisfaction with emergency house calls and to assess the properties of a satisfaction measurement questionnaire. DESIGN Patient survey, combined with routinely collected information on the circumstances of the house call. SETTING Emergency house calls provided by an independent emergency care organization (ECO) in Geneva, Switzerland. ...

Before World War II 40% of patient visits were conducted in the home. Since then the number of house calls by physicians had been decreasing until 1998 when payment restructuring improved reimbursement. As the article by Peterson et al points out, the number of patients receiving house calls has increased in recent years, yet the number of physicians making house calls has decreased. This may b...