It seems like an image from a bygone era; a physician steps up to the front door, black bag in hand, to check on a patient at home. Or is it completely science fiction: where a telepresence robot Dr. VGo comes in to check on a patient in their home. Maybe both….

I was talking with a friend who grew up in New York and house call was from the doctor who lived across the apartment building hall. “He even came across in his stripped pajamas’!!” By the early 1970’s less than 2% of US doctors were making house calls. Jammed roads made travel time un-economical for doctors and medical practices became the norm for seeing many patients on a daily basis. There is a bubble coming through the system with the baby boomers, how are the current systems going to scale to deal with this population. A grayer patient base may mean less likely to leave home for that annual check up. Does Dr VGo enter the system here? Technology has greatly expanded the physician’s black bag. Imagine a bag, beyond the rubber hammer and the stethoscope, to include a Bluetooth technology enabled device that allows diabetic patients to enter their blood sugar readings into VGo and receive real-time feedback on what they should eat and other ways they can help stabilize their blood sugar. What if Dr VGo could also can alert patients when they need to test their levels. Maybe a different world where house calls are making a comeback!!!