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Mid-20th Century Decline: The Post-War Boom and Institutionalized Medicine

After World War II, house calls began to wane, marking a significant shift in healthcare delivery. The post-war boom brought rapid advancements in medical technology, including X-rays, antibiotics, and specialized treatments that required equipment far beyond what a doctor could carry in their bag. Hospitals emerged as the new epicenters of care, offering centralized facilities where these innovations could be effectively utilized.

At the same time, the rise of insurance systems incentivized institutionalized care. Health insurance plans increasingly covered hospital visits, encouraging patients to seek treatment at clinics and emergency rooms rather than in their homes. Physicians, too, gravitated toward hospitals, where they could access advanced tools and collaborate with specialists.

Specialization also played a role in the decline of house calls. The mid-20th century saw a shift from general practitioners to highly focused fields of medicine. With doctors concentrating on narrow areas of expertise, the holistic, all-purpose care of house calls became less practical.

While this era brought significant medical progress, it also distanced care from the intimate, personalized nature of home visits. By the 1960s, many private practice physicians still saw patients directly, but as institutionalized medicine expanded and insurance models took hold, house calls largely faded into nostalgia, replaced by a healthcare system that prioritized efficiency over the doctor-patient connection.