House call practices: a comparison by specialty.

BACKGROUND: There has been no national survey of physician house calls since 1980, and in particular, no survey of pediatric house calls in 30 years. This national study was undertaken to compare physician house call practices among family physicians, general internists, and general pediatricians. METHODS: A mail survey was conducted of 1500 primary care physicians who were randomly selected from the American Medical Association Physician Master File. Five hundred physicians were selected from each of three specialties: family medicine, internal medicine, and pediatrics. RESULTS: Nine hundred six questionnaires were returned for a response rate of 59%. The percentage of family physicians making house calls was significantly greater than that of internists or pediatricians (63%, 47%, and 15%, respectively). Factors associated with making house calls were: house calls being a common practice in the community, solo practice, specialty (family practice), sex (male), and practice location in the northeast. Physicians who agreed with the following attitudes were more likely to make house calls: (1) making house calls leads to high patient satisfaction; (2) house calls are important for good comprehensive patient care; and (3) house calls are satisfying for physicians. Physicians who agreed that making house calls exposes them to a significant malpractice risk were half as likely to make house calls. CONCLUSIONS: Family physicians made significantly more house calls than internists or pediatricians.