Home visits in rural general practice: what does the future hold?

Area of Science:

• General Practice
• Rural Health
• Healthcare Delivery

Background:

• House call rates are declining globally, with limited recent data, especially in rural areas.
• Existing research indicates benefits of home visits for both healthcare providers and patients.
• There is a need to understand current trends and reasons for home visits in rural settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the current rate of home visits in a rural general practice setting in North-West Ireland.
• To identify the primary reasons for conducting house calls in this population.
• To compare current rates with historical data to assess the decline.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive observational study was conducted in 14 general practice training practices in North-West Ireland.
• Data on house calls were collected over May and June 2019.
• Anonymised data were analysed using Microsoft Excel and GraphPad.

Main Results:

• A total of 547 house calls were recorded, with a rate of 87 house calls/1000 patients/year.
• This represents a statistically significant 40% decrease compared to a 2009 study (143/1000/year).
• Most house calls (86.2%) were for patients over 65, primarily for respiratory infections, other infections, palliative care, and pain. 88.3% were managed in the community.

Conclusions:

• The rate of house calls in rural Ireland has significantly declined over the past decade, consistent with global trends.
• Home visits are crucial for managing elderly patients with infections and palliative care needs within the community.
• Given an aging population, the future of home visit services requires careful consideration and planning for sustainable care delivery.