Seventy-four year old Dorothy Carter has survived a stroke and a heart attack. Her conditions need frequent monitoring, but they also make it very difficult for her to get to her doctor's office. So her doctor comes to her. More and more physicians are doing just that.
"There's absolutely a trend towards physician house calls. Largely due to the aging population, as the baby boomers get older. It's sort of life's bitter irony, as you become older and need care most, you're least likely to receive it because of the fact that the ailments you're suffering from, getting to the doctor's office."
For frail older patients like Dorothy Carter, the house call comeback is very welcome news.
"It's the best thing for our health, I think, to sustain us, by having a doctor come to the house. A lot of times, people don't feel like getting on a bus or have transportation, but, if you know someone is coming out. And keeping up with my blood pressure and doing the blood work and all the other things that were necessary, its really a blessing."
According to Natalie Tucker, who is with AARP Health Team, has become necessary .
"More people cannot get out because of their health concerns, so we like to see the physicians come back, with the advances of modern medicine and bring it into the patients home."
Patients like Dorothy Carter are thankful that the tradition of house calls is coming back. She just hopes it's here to stay.
