Channeling the Old Time Family Doctor

Photo: Country Doctor by W. Eugene Smith

We hit another little milestone a few days ago – on Friday I made my first house call since opening Fountainhead Family Med.

One of our patients woke up that day with an acute problem that would have made it very difficult to come in to the office for evaluation.

I had some time before my first scheduled patient in the office that morning, so I was able to go to the person’s home, sort out the likely diagnosis, prescribe some medication to help with the symptoms, and Terri and I were able to arrange for a beneficial treatment that same day. 

From my perspective, being able to help a patient when and where it was needed was very gratifying.  That’s part of what I was signing up for when I decided to go to medical school.  I’m also pretty sure that, on the patient’s part, the house call was appreciated as well.  I feel very lucky that, having made the transition from insurance-based medicine to direct primary care, that I am now working in a model that allows for this type of more personal, more meaningful care. 

It’s another example:

At Fountainhead Family Med, we are here for you, and if needed, we’ll come THERE for you.