{"id":4963,"date":"2018-02-14T10:00:55","date_gmt":"2018-02-14T18:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/my.castlighthealth.com\/blog\/?p=4963"},"modified":"2019-11-07T23:57:50","modified_gmt":"2019-11-08T07:57:50","slug":"telehealth-new-house-call","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/my.castlighthealth.com\/blog\/telehealth-new-house-call\/","title":{"rendered":"Telehealth: The new house call"},"content":{"rendered":"

Back in the day, say, the 1940s, house calls \u2014 where a doctor would come to the patient\u2019s home \u2014 used to comprise about forty percent of U.S. doctors\u2019 visits<\/a>. Instead of patients exclusively visiting doctors, doctors would also visit patients.<\/p>\n

Over time this trend reversed, and house calls went out of style. Today they account for less than one percent<\/a> of all doctors\u2019 visits.<\/p>\n

But the saying \u201cThere is no new thing under the sun,\u201d may be true after all \u2014 when it comes to doctor visits at least. Believe it or not, house calls are making a comeback . . . albeit, in the form of virtual visits.<\/p>\n

Is this really a thing?<\/h2>\n

If a virtual visit sounds ridiculous, that\u2019s not surprising. Although over 90 percent of employers offer telehealth as an employee benefit, only about 3 percent of employees<\/a> use it. Eight out of ten people<\/a> haven\u2019t even heard of it.<\/p>\n

But at a time where an estimated 65 million<\/a> Americans live in areas where primary care doctors can only meet about half their needs, and just 10 percent<\/a> of physicians practice in rural areas, telehealth is growing into a convenient (and sometimes necessary) means of getting care.<\/p>\n

And if you think telehealth is only useful for treating routine symptoms like sniffling and sneezing, think again. To be clear, it isn\u2019t meant to treat emergencies or accidents where you need immediate help. But virtual visits can help with all kinds of medical issues, including:<\/p>\n