Barriers to Making House Calls by Primary Care Physicians and Solutions: A Literature Review

Background: The number of house calls made by physicians has been declining over the years, while the number of people requiring house calls, especially the elderly, is growing.

Aim: To consolidate the literature regarding the barriers faced by primary care physicians in making house calls.

Design of the study: Literature review.

Method: Studies were sourced from PubMed and Embase.

Results: 7 studies were selected to be in the literature review. Barriers to making house calls by primary care physicians include inadequate remuneration, lack of time and training, unconducive home environment, concerns with professional liability and safety, and perceived low value-added in the patient's quality of care.

Conclusion: While primary care physicians do recognize the value of house calls in patient care, the perceived limited standard of care that can be achieved in the home setting, busy clinic practice (large patient loads), coupled with inadequate remuneration make house calls unrealistic for many doctors. These barriers must be addressed to ensure accessibility to primary health care services for the immobile, frail, and sick is not being compromised. One of the solutions may be to expose medical students and residents to house calls early through mentorship.