House calls by New Hampshire family practitioners

We surveyed current activities and attitudes regarding house calls among New Hampshire family physicians. Fifty of a random sample of 72 eligible participants returned a brief questionnaire. They reported on 134 house calls they made during the two weeks prior to the survey. Eighty-four percent of participants offered house calls, averaging 2.68 house calls per physician over the two week study period. Most house calls were to the elderly or homebound for management purposes. Physicians thought house calls were important, but often an inefficient use of their time. Financial and time constraints were the most commonly cited limiting factors. The decision to make a house call is based on clinical judgment regarding the individual case and broader issues involving the physician's whole practice. Unless external constraints change, house calls will continue to be an uncommon event.