HOUSE CALL PRACTICES - A COMPARISON BY SPECIALTY

Background. There has been no national survey of physician house calls since 1980, and in particular, no survey of pediatric house calls in 30 years. This national study was undertaken to compare physician hous e call practices among family physicians, general internists, and gene ral pediatricians. Methods. A mail survey was conducted of 1500 primar y care physicians who were randomly selected from the American Medical Association Physician Master File. Five hundred physicians were selec ted from each of three specialties: family medicine, internal medicine , and pediatrics. Results. Nine hundred six questionnaires were return ed for a response rate of 59%. The percentage of family physicians mak ing house calls was significantly greater than that of internists or p ediatricians (63%, 47%, and 15%, respectively). Factors associated wit h making house calls were: house calls being a common practice in the community, solo practice, specialty (family practice), sex (male), and practice location in the northeast. Physicians who agreed with the fo llowing attitudes were More likely to make house calls: (1) making hou se calls leads to high patient satisfaction; (2) house calls are impor tant for good comprehensive patient care; and (3) house calls are sati sfying for physicians. Physicians who agreed that making house calls e xposes them to a significant malpractice risk were half as likely to m ake house calls. Conclusions. Family physicians made significantly mor e house calls than internists or pediatricians.