Who is old enough to remember when doctors made house calls?

[milestogo]

I have a distinct memory of a doctor coming to our apartment when my siblings and I were all sick from some viral disease, probably measles. He carried a big black bag.

The doctors bore a lot of risk back then too.

[gibraltar72]

1. Yeah we're old.

[katmondoo]

8. Yes I do remember very well.

[SouthernLiberal]

49. Me too!

Only when my siblings or I were sick. Vaccines and such, we had to go to his office. And I remember when it stopped, and a visit to the doctor's office became a virus haven.

[The Blue Flower]

2. Long, long ago

My sister and I once hid from him in the closet. Boy, were we in trouble for that!

[spanone]

3. I remember our doctor coming into our house & bedroom

[Ohiogal]

4. It must have been the early 60s

The doctor came to our house because my sister was sick with something. She had to lie on the couch while he gave her a shot in the butt. Of course I was standing right there watching everything with big eyes. Neither one of us will forget that unpleasant memory. I think I was 4 and she was 6. He was kind of a gruff old guy and he smoked. I used to wonder why he ever became a pediatrician. Certainly he did not have much of a bedside manner.

[Dave in VA]

5. Absolutely!

When ever we needed him. My younger brother was so sick with red measles he came to check on him. Even helped my parents put blankets over all the windows because he said that he had measles in his eyes and if bright light got to them he could go blind.

Also, my MIL lived with us after her diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease in 2006. We used a service called Visiting Physicians for nearly 10 years. They were mostly retired physicians who still wanted to serve, but without all the overhead of a private practice. Great people!

[frazzled]

22. Yes

My mother (94) lives in her house with caregivers in attendance. She gets periodic visits from a visiting physicians group. Usually just the nurse practitioner to check vitals and such. But in emergency, doctor will come.

I remember our pediatrician making house calls when we kids were sick with something communicable. It was smart: no waiting rooms full of coughing, feverish, or pustule-laden kids.

[enough]

6. Oh yes, the beloved Dr. Truitt in Chester County PA. NT

[sinkingfeeling]

7. I do. And they also provided medical care themselves, without

sending you to 3 others.

[Butterflylady]

56. Everybody specializes now.

I have a primary care physician and 5 specialists. I get so 😕 confused.

[treestar]

9. Only just

A doctor came when I was sick to a house we lived in until I was 5. That would make it early 1960s.

[HockeyMom]

10. Yes, Dr.Santa

I called him that because he had a long white beard. He came to our Manhattan apartment when I was sick, including when I had Scarlet Fever. No, I was not born in the 1800's!

Edit: He carried common childhood medications in his black bag.

[MineralMan]

11. Sure. I remember house calls from our family doctor, back

in the 1950s. Dr. Kerr. He was a great believer in penicillin shots. Damn, those hurt!

I also remembering my parents complaining about the cost. $7.50 for a house call. An office visit was just $5.

[eyeofnewt]

12. I remember

The local family dr coming when my sister had measles. I was very young, but I remember my mom paying him cash. She probably cooked a big meal and fed him too as she did everyone. From individual drs offices to large practices to telemedicine. How far we’ve come. Also, I remember drs making hospital rounds on their own patients, whereas we now have hospitalists seeing inpatients and the primary dr isn’t involved in the hospital stay.

[MineralMan]

13. It's really interesting to look to see what the population was in the 1950s.

Shocking, really. 152 million in 1950. 320 million now. That makes all the difference.

[PlanetBev]

14. Oh, yeah...

I remember pulling the covers over my head, hoping the doctor wouldn’t notice me.

[milestogo]

15. William Carlos Williams "The Doctor Stories" are early 20th century

but its an interesting read about how health care was delivered in the US 100 years ago. Lots of home visits, and you could pay with a chicken.

[kimbutgar]

16. I remember when I had the measles at age 5 the doctor came to our house twice

[central scrutinizer]

17. And milk was delivered to a box by the back door

Mom was always home so it was refrigerated promptly

[WheelWalker]

18. Not only did Doc Nagle make house calls, but so did his patients.

Revere Drive, Toledo. Businesses lined Sylvania Avenue, and then homes began on Revere, back from the intersection with Sylvania. Our house was about 5th from the corner. Doc Nagle's house was across the street, the first residence on Revere back from the corner and Sylvania businesses. He made house calls to all of us on the street when we couldn't get out to visit him at his office, which was in the basement of his house. The basement office had a separate outside entrance. Hence, both he and his patients made "house calls".

[blitzen]

19. I lived in France in the early 90s. Doctors made house calls then. I imagine they still do...

Generally speaking, Americans have no idea how much we are subjected to our ultra-capitalist ideology. For example, we have to pay for luggage carts at airports. In every other country I have visited they're free.

[milestogo]

21. Depends on the airport.

[northoftheborder]

20. In 1968, I had the flu. Our small town doctor came to my bedside. Last time that happened.

[onethatcares]

23. I'm old enough to remember

when my grandmother couldn't afford a doctors visit either in house or in office. Then medicare happened and her diabetes began getting treated.

I grew up in the 50s and got shuttled off to her place each summer. Loved the getting away but hated seeing my aunt unwrap and wrap bandages around her "weeping legs". I'll never forget seeing my grandfather spit his bloody lungs into paper and toss the papers in the stove. He didn't make it to Medicare

Some sights you never forget, ever

[marlakay]

24. I remember came to my house when I

Was 7 had very high fever 104 and almost died from measles. Was sick for two weeks.

[justhanginon]

25. Early forties. Our whole family (5) came down with food poisoning.

and even as a child I still remember Doctor Mountjoy. As I recall she was a white haired elderly lady and still remember that visit.
Hey, not bad for an 83 year olds memory.

[Skidmore]

27. My brother fell

off the landing of the stairs and knocked himself out. Doctor came to our house and sat with him until he was certain he had no concussion.

[mshasta]

28. That's me

Chicken pox with high fever , he came to my house my mother was cleaning everything so the doctor with he’s nurse will found the house clean

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

29. I do. I got scarlet fever, and the doctor came to the house.

This would have been in the late '50s. I don't remember exactly what he did except check me over; I suppose I was given penicillin. I don't know when doctors stopped making house calls, but as far as I can recall this was the only time my family ever asked for one.

[doc03]

30. I remember once when my brother had mumps back in the early 50s Dr. Dannenberg came to our house.

My mother said that he charged $5 for a house call back then and $3 for a office visit. I find that hard to believe considering what doctors charge today.

[dflprincess]

31. I do

I was so sick with measles he was stopping by twice a day for the first couple days & once day for a few after that.

[jpak]

32. Yup

Black bag too.

[underpants]

33. Hospitals are (or were) doing in home urgent care visits

One of the big hospitals in Richmond and the healthcare behemoth out in Roanoke is too.

[phylny]

34. My dad was just released from rehab

and has a primary care doctor who only does house calls. This is in New York.

[ronatchig]

35. put me in this category

I remember Dr. Bittman( the only doc in our little town ) in his Urkle car.coming to visit when we had Scarlotte fever going around in our home(and schoeol). A true hero if ever there was one.Imho

[Satch59]

36. Yup...early 60's...came with the black bag too!

In CT...was 1 or 4 at the time (ended 1 of 6). Remember how kind he was and would go room to room to check on the sick kids.

And yes had the milkman deliver and had a breadman too and if we were good, got choc covered donuts...yum...

[tblue37]

41. Yes, our milk was delivered, too, in bottles that we put out for him to collect when empty. nt

[Atticus]

37. Absolutely. nt

[Mariana]

38. The doctor came to the house when I had measles in 1973.

I don't remember it, but my mother told me he came to our house, and to the house of my classmate who also had measles. He didn't usually make house calls, but I guess he didn't want to take any chance of measles spreading around, while they figured out why two vaccinated children in the same classroom had measles.

[milestogo]

39. I don't think there were ant-vaxxers in those days.

My parents had seen the effects of polio first hand. Everybody knew someone who got it.

[Mariana]

42. One or both of us got measles from an unvaccinated person

who was visiting in our town from another state. I have no idea why this person wasn't vaccinated.

Anti-vaxxers have been with us a long time:

Alfred Russel Wallace and the Antivaccination Movement in Victorian England

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/16/4/09-0434_article

[milestogo]

43. Wow. Thanks for the link.

[tblue37]

40. I am. When my brother had whooping cough, the doctor came to our house to examine

and treat him--about 1964.

[musicman65]

44. My Grandfather did that

and was paid by fruit and chic hens in North Dakota,,back in the day

[LastDemocratInSC]

54. My grandfather did the same. I remember it well.

[CanonRay]

45. I got 2 broken ribs

and Doc Schultz came out and treated them at home.

[malaise]

46. I'm so old that I was born at home

[milestogo]

47. My mom was born at home...

the doctor was late to her delivery (on the dining room table) because he was at the golf course.

[malaise]

48. Only big sister was born in a hospital

as mum went into labor on the ship in the New York port as they were on their way home from England.

[frogmarch]

50. Ours still does.

Maybe not for all his patients, but he's offered to make house calls to see my husband, who has COPD, when mr. froggy can't make it to the clinic and the home health care nurse can't come, and he offered to drop by and carry our excercise bike upstairs. Our neighbors did it, but that was good of the dr. to offer.

[mucifer]

51. My dad did. I have his doctor bag. So Proud!!

I am a hospice nurse.

[Turbineguy]

52. Doctor Smith

In his white Mercedes.

[sop]

53. One uncle and an aunt were physicians, they'd always stop by when we were sick.

Right now they're not seeing anyone at the nearby university medical center unless it's necessary. This week my PCP called and we conducted my scheduled office visit by telephone. He asked me lots of questions, we reviewed recent blood test results, I checked my own temp, BP and pulse ox for him, then he faxed a prescription to my pharmacy. It's the new normal, I guess.

[Butterflylady]

55. Me me me me me!!!!!

Doc had 1 shot for everything, penicillin.

[Tanuki]

57. No, except I remember when Dr. Jack Kevorkian was making house calls.