Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Sunday Morning
Doctor Makes a Practice of Making House Calls
Aired November 03, 2002 - 08:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Is there a doctor in the house? Well, for some patients, the answer is yes. In this edition of "Faces of the Week," medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen introduces us to a physician who makes a practice of making house calls.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Three years ago, Dr. Eric de Jonge abandoned his office.
DR. ERIC DE JONGE, PHYSICIAN: Yeah, Ms. Swan (ph), it's doctor downstairs. If you could buzz the door.
COHEN: And now this is his office.
DE JONGE: Hi, Ms. Swan (ph).
COHEN: The homes of people who need him. People like 94-year- old Mary Swan (ph). Too sick to leave her house, if a doctor didn't come to her, she'd have to go to a nursing home, which she doesn't want, and given the price, neither would Medicare.
DE JONGE: Open your mouth nice and wide.
COHEN: Today, Dr. de Jonge checks an aching tooth. He asks her what she is taking for it. Mrs. Swan (ph) can remember where the bottle sits in her bathroom, but not the name.
DE JONGE: Can I go look for it a minute?
COHEN: It's only on a house call that a doctor can go find the patient's medicine himself.
DE JONGE: No, this is hydrogen peroxide.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
DE JONGE: I think this is probably not the best thing to be putting in your mouth.
COHEN: He also checks Mrs. Swan's (ph) blood pressure and lungs.
DE JONGE: Nice, deep breath.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wouldn't be living if it wasn't for them.
COHEN: Then he moves on for his next patient.
Dr. de Jonge and five colleagues from the Washington Hospital Center do these house calls, seeing eight patients in a day. That's not a lot compared to a regular doctor's office, but he says their practice is financially healthy.
DE JONGE: Our overhead is less than half of an office practice, so we have to see less patients to make our ends meet.
COHEN: In his big black bag he carries with him everything he needs. He can do EKGs, blood tests, measure oxygen in the blood, all right there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's been a Godsend to us. It absolutely has been.
COHEN: Jan Hall's (ph) 82-year-old mother, Marjorie Inkaens (ph), has Alzheimer's disease.
DE JONGE: Do you know who I am?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
COHEN: Today, Dr. de Jonge checks her knee. Two weeks ago, she was in so much pain she'd stopped eating. Then during a house call, he drained fluid and gave her steroid shots.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: From that point on, you could see her start to feel better.
DE JONGE: Is that right?
COHEN: There are a few other house call projects around the country, and Dr. de Jonge and others are encouraging more. They cut down on emergency room visits, they say, and they bring care to people who can't get to care themselves.
Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Washington, D.C.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 3, 2002 - 08:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Is there a doctor in the house? Well, for some patients, the answer is yes. In this edition of "Faces of the Week," medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen introduces us to a physician who makes a practice of making house calls.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Three years ago, Dr. Eric de Jonge abandoned his office.
DR. ERIC DE JONGE, PHYSICIAN: Yeah, Ms. Swan (ph), it's doctor downstairs. If you could buzz the door.
COHEN: And now this is his office.
DE JONGE: Hi, Ms. Swan (ph).
COHEN: The homes of people who need him. People like 94-year- old Mary Swan (ph). Too sick to leave her house, if a doctor didn't come to her, she'd have to go to a nursing home, which she doesn't want, and given the price, neither would Medicare.
DE JONGE: Open your mouth nice and wide.
COHEN: Today, Dr. de Jonge checks an aching tooth. He asks her what she is taking for it. Mrs. Swan (ph) can remember where the bottle sits in her bathroom, but not the name.
DE JONGE: Can I go look for it a minute?
COHEN: It's only on a house call that a doctor can go find the patient's medicine himself.
DE JONGE: No, this is hydrogen peroxide.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
DE JONGE: I think this is probably not the best thing to be putting in your mouth.
COHEN: He also checks Mrs. Swan's (ph) blood pressure and lungs.
DE JONGE: Nice, deep breath.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wouldn't be living if it wasn't for them.
COHEN: Then he moves on for his next patient.
Dr. de Jonge and five colleagues from the Washington Hospital Center do these house calls, seeing eight patients in a day. That's not a lot compared to a regular doctor's office, but he says their practice is financially healthy.
DE JONGE: Our overhead is less than half of an office practice, so we have to see less patients to make our ends meet.
COHEN: In his big black bag he carries with him everything he needs. He can do EKGs, blood tests, measure oxygen in the blood, all right there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's been a Godsend to us. It absolutely has been.
COHEN: Jan Hall's (ph) 82-year-old mother, Marjorie Inkaens (ph), has Alzheimer's disease.
DE JONGE: Do you know who I am?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
COHEN: Today, Dr. de Jonge checks her knee. Two weeks ago, she was in so much pain she'd stopped eating. Then during a house call, he drained fluid and gave her steroid shots.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: From that point on, you could see her start to feel better.
DE JONGE: Is that right?
COHEN: There are a few other house call projects around the country, and Dr. de Jonge and others are encouraging more. They cut down on emergency room visits, they say, and they bring care to people who can't get to care themselves.
Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Washington, D.C.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
