HOUSTON – The house call is back.
If you're a caregiver for a parent, adult with disabilities or a cancer patient and live in Harris County, this may be the help you need to get medical attention and keep your loved one out of the hospital.
The worry and anxiety for loved ones at home, while you're at work, can be alleviated with a house call program through the Harris Health System.
World War II veteran Leon Bernsen lived a healthy life for 91 years. Now the time has come for his daughter to care for him. It’s a task made a bit easier by Dr. Anita Major, who makes old-fashioned house calls.
“The reason house calls works is because … we as the health care professionals educate and empower the caregivers to do what the patient needs,” said Major, who works with Harris Health System and Baylor College of Medicine.
Major teaches Brensen’s daughter, Dianna, what she can do at home and when a trip to the ER is necessary.
“I needed something to bridge the gap between the care at Methodist which was 24/7, everything you could throw at him, to regular care and so the system that we got, the Harris Health System fills that gap,” Dianna said. “It provides, if he needs an X-ray if he's coughing too much, we have a portable X-ray machine that is brought over and an X-ray goes out immediately to Dr. Major and she knows what's going on. It's just, it's a fantastic program.”
Major said this is more than just a convenience. She said by going to a patient’s home, doctors can catch mistakes that pose health threats: like forgetting discharge instructions or mixing up pill bottles
“I daresay always but 99 percent of the time we can find a problem and intervene upon it so they're not returning to the hospital,” Major said.
Right now, the program is looking for more patients but not all types of doctors are available. They do have geriatric physicians and palliative care specialists.
“I'm looking for my oxygen and I don't have any of that with me and so it becomes challenging. You have to become creative and you have to figure out what's really going to help this person,” she said.
Patients will only be billed a copay through their insurance company. That is a lesser charge than an ambulance ride or hospital visit.
This is only available in Harris County but it's all residents in the county who are immobile: elderly patients, adults with special needs and paraplegic adults. However, Major said insurance will cover someone who is mobile but recently discharged -- think someone who recently had surgery -- for a one-time checkup.
For more information on the program or to find out if you qualify, call 713-592-4880 during regular business hours.