It was a slow day at the senior health fair I was attending. When it is slow you talk with the other exhibitors and one of them happened to be Dr. Shomir Banerjee. In addition to urgent and primary care, Dr. Banerjee is trying to blaze a new path by making house calls for private pay.
When I learned of his new excursion into the uncharted waters of health care delivery, I immediately thought of a friend that could use his service. My friend has no health insurance, can’t drive and is on a limited income. While he is generally healthy, he has some chronic conditions that need some periodic review and new prescriptions written. He is a perfect candidate for Dr. Banerjee.
A health care delivery system where doctors make house calls will not become predominant anytime soon. However, there is a real need for folks where traveling to a facility, even in an urban area, can be a challenge. This is especially true for folks with no insurance.
Of course, a doctor who makes house calls is no substitute for a comprehensive and affordable health insurance plan. But for those folks on limited incomes in between jobs and medicare eligibility it might be a viable solution for the management of chronic health conditions for the uninsured.
Whether you support or scoff at Dr. Banerjee’s business, you have to applaud an individual who has chosen to be inventive and try something new. I think we can all agree that truly new inventive ideas do not come out of the halls of congress, but from individuals like Dr. Banerjee.