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The Quiet Resurgence: Rediscovering the Home Visit in the Late 20th Century

By the 1980s and 1990s, house calls, initially considered a relic of the past, quietly began to reemerge. This resurgence was driven largely by an aging population and the increasing demand for home hospice care. Advances in medicine led to longer life expectancy, but many elderly and terminally ill patients found traveling to hospitals or clinics burdensome. In-home visits once again became a practical and compassionate solution, allowing for personalized care in a familiar setting.

This period marked the early stages of rethinking patient-centered care. Physicians and healthcare providers once again began to recognize the importance of addressing patients’ needs within the context of their home environments. House calls allowed for more holistic care, enabling doctors to better understand factors like living conditions, caregiver support, and overall quality of life.

The resurgence was also bolstered by the growth of specialized services, such as palliative care and visiting nurse programs, which focused on providing comfort and dignity to patients in their final stages of life. These initiatives highlighted the value of treating the patient as a whole person, not just a diagnosis.

Though still a niche practice during this time, the late 20th-century revival of house calls planted the seeds for modern mobile healthcare. It showed that even in an era of institutionalized medicine, the personalized care of a house call could meet unique patient needs in a way no hospital visit could.