Anthony Papagiannis

“Doctor, he cannot be moved. Could you arrange to see him at home?” Admittedly, a request like that is almost never exactly welcome at first blush. Sometimes, you know such an appointment can be managed from a distance (if the patient’s problem isn’t serious). More often, you worry about practical difficulties (how to find the home—now much easier since the advent of GPS; whether there will be a convenient parking space; how much can you do without your usual office facilities; and, most importantly, how you’re going to carve out the necessary time—several multiples of a routine office visit—from your already busy workday).

In practice however, you rarely regret a home visit. Once you overcome your hesitation, and the practical obstacles, you get to know your patients in a different light when you see them in their own daily environment, which certainly impacts on their health and quality of life in many ways.