[The so-called preventive house call. Forestalling nursing home admission]

In view of the increasing numbers of elderly citizens in the general population, there is a need to ensure that they receive medical care within a setting of independence preservation and, wherever possible, within the domestic environment. Preventive house calls can contribute greatly to efforts made to achieve this aim. The implementation of this effective instrument should be in the hands of a team of specially trained family doctors, nurses and geriatric care-providers. During a house call, a multidimensional geriatric assessment covering such aspects as mobility, nutritional status, somatosensory status, and domestic and social environment, should be made. Of essential importance is the long-term care of the geriatric patient, which can be realized by the family doctor via repeated house calls. Current cost/benefit analyses clearly favor anchoring the preventive house calls in the public health service.