Everything old is new again.
That’s what an old song says. And a prime illustration of that concept is occurring locally in healthcare: doctors making house calls.
The Call Doctor Co., already branching out from its base in San Diego to the Inland Empire, plans to expand to OC this year, said Mike Struhs, the company’s vice president of marketing.
Call Doctor dispatches high-tech vans that carry diagnostic equipment, such as X-ray machines and heart monitors. One physician works from each van, and others can be called on as needed.
The company’s sales pitch includes economy as well as convenience.
In printed material, Call Doctor compares the typical $200 cost of its home visits with typical ambulance charges of $450 and emergency room visits of $1,500.
“We basically can do anything an emergency room can do, except surgery,” Struhs said. “We can do things like set broken bones and do spinal taps.”
Most patients who use Call Doctor are elderly and have difficulty getting to a doctor’s office. Many have had a stroke or suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, Struhs said.
Ninety percent of Call Doctor’s patients are on Medicare and Medicare supplemental insurance plans also cover Call Doctor services, he said. The company hopes to negotiate contracts with HMOs in the future, he said.
With six physicians operating out of six vans in San Diego County and two doctors and vans in Riverside, the company sees about 1,200 patients a month.
Benson is a staff reporter at the Business Press, Inland Empire.
