HEALTH
The Doctor Will See You at Your Home — for a Price House calls: in-home health booming By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
D
uring the pandemic, more people oriented their daily lives around home: home grocery delivery, virtual work, Zoom parties and remote school. Some of these remain even after the quarantine was lifted.
The time period highlighted the need for more services at home for certain demographics, including people who struggle to leave home because of mobility and transportation issues. J. Christopher Stringer, internal medicine physician in practice in Man-
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lius, provides office visits and also sees patients in their homes once a week — on Thursdays — or as required. “There are people who need it,” he said. “It’s not particularly available. Medicine is increasingly challenging for physicians and increasingly impersonal and institutional. There’s less time for patients with the doctor. From our point of view, we do it differently. Most doctors do volume; we don’t do volume. I did volume a long time and finally said ‘Uncle.’” From 1980 through 2013, Stringer treated about 2,000 to 3,000 total patients seen in only 15-minute time periods at a time. He felt completely burned out and ready to quit medicine because he felt he was not providing the level of care that he wanted. Now he sees only 300 patients, but “I can spend time with them,” he said. Visits may be as long as patients need, which helps the complicated cases often found among patients with limited mobility. “It’s the way medicine should be, but it isn’t anymore,” Stringer said. Patients pay a monthly membership for this personalized healthcare, ranging from $1,650 to $4,100, depending upon age. Services can include blood draws, EKGs, ultrasounds and even minor surgery at home for things like skin problems and treating ulcers. Stringer also bills insurance, but “if it weren’t for the membership fee, we couldn’t open our doors.” He also cares for patients in the hospital, not relying on a hospitalist to provide their care during their stay. Stringer likes offering this level of continuity of care. Alexander Talev, doctor of physical therapy, operates Home Stretch Physical Therapy in Syracuse in a similar fashion—treating patients at home. Since mobility is an issue for most people undergoing physical therapy, he finds it an ideal way to treat patients. He can see them in their own environment and problem-solve with them about with any obstacles they encounter where they spend most of their time each day. “We see people for various conditions after surgery, after an illness, after falls,” Talev said. “We can see them as an alternative to going out to a clinic. We can work with people in their homes, go to all of the senior living communities, including senior apartments and can go to people’s places of employment. We can also work with people in preventing falls and injuries.
