To the Editor:

I agree wholeheartedly with “I Do House Calls!” [July/August 2003, page 69]. My first exposure to the benefits of house calls was during my residency training. Last year I became the first family physician in my hometown of 7,000 people when I opened a solo practice here. When I noticed that some of my elderly patients were frequently missing appointments and allowing greater intervals to pass between their follow-up appointments, I suspected that some of them were having mobility problems. I began doing house calls, and now I have a 100-percent house-call show rate. I find it very rewarding to care for the patient in the home, just like a true country doctor.