East Penn House Calls Offers new Twist on “Modern” Medicine

Dr. Dave Perry, a self-described “emergency doctor who makes house calls” founded Upper Milford-based East Penn House Calls about four years ago as part of a desire to get back to direct patient care.

Last week, Dr. Dave, as he is known to his patients, was the focus of a recurring feature on Emmaus Patch known as “People in Our Neighborhood.” , he discussed many aspects of his personal and professional life, including the fact that he practices emergency medicine part-time at Pottstown Memorial Medical Center in addition to running East Penn House Calls.

In a nutshell, East Penn House Calls enables Dr. Dave to treat many of the same issues that usually require a trip to the hospital in the patient’s home or workplace.

The part of the story that Dr. Dave didn’t get to tell in that article relates to the difference between East Penn House Calls and a “traditional” hospital-based ER.

Here’s what he had to say on that topic:

"The primary difference is the privacy and comfort East Penn House Calls allows. When most people are sick or injured, and at their worst, the last thing they want to do is to sit in a large waiting room filled with strangers. 

"At the ER, there is usually a period of waiting in the public waiting room, followed by visits with the triage nurse, the registration clerk, the patient nurse, then the doctor. Or sometimes not the doctor, but a physician assistant. The doctor or assistant often divides his attention between 6-10 active patients, and might come and go as interruptions arise. 

"When someone calls East Penn House Calls, I answer the phone, the patient can wait in the comfort of their own home, and the only person they need to see is me, the doctor. 

"For most problems, the treatment received is the same at home as in the ER.  The advantage for the ER is that they have a bunch of equipment and staff that I don't have access to at home, allowing them to treat critically ill patients and patients who require several staff members to serve their needs

“From a financial perspective, I don't have anything near the overhead that the hospital has.  Therefore, my bills are much less than an ER visit for identical problems. 

“Because I have training in both family practice and emergency medicine, insurers recognize me as a family practice.  This means that patients do not have to pay the high ER or urgent care co-payments that they would at the hospital.”