
Having come from a healthcare background and family (my father is a retired MD, and my sister is an MD, Internal Medicine specialty in Seattle), I know full well that in the medical community, house calls went away years ago. Today, though, many issues persist in the field of health care making the quaintness of “house calls” something worth returning to, or at least “virtual house calls,” by using the technology to enable.
Jay Parkinson, MD, a Brooklyn based physician is a “traditionalist” physician, but with the use of technology he is turning “doctoring” on its ear.
For Dr Parkinson, use of the technology allows him the freedom to have no office; conduct consultations by e-mail, video chat or IM; and he only treats residents of Brooklyn (specifically the area known as Williamsburg) between 18 and 39, preferably in and around that neighborhood. For all face-to-face visits, 31-year-old Parkinson goes to a patient's work or home ("no more wasted time surrounded by coughing people in waiting rooms"). He also treats patients with an eye toward finding the most reasonable health care prices. Patients pay an annual fee of $500, which includes an initial consultation plus two additional face-to-face visits as needed. For each extra service, Parkinson's rates are clearly spelled out ahead of time for those with and without health insurance, and many of the specific rates are available online at his website, plus examples of his practice approach. Additionally, Dr Parkinson blogs about his practice and is a popular photographer on Flickr.
Combining the benefits of an old-fashioned, small-town doctor with the convenience of web technology—sounds good to me! Doctors in the rest of the world: How about you....? Dad??? Sis???