a visit from one's physician.

[keannu]

2-1"An apple a day keeps the doctor away"- this well-known saying suggests that eating an apple each day will keep you healthy andpreclude the need for a visit from one's physician.Do you get a visit from a doctor? Isn't it for rich people or the seriously ill ones?

 

[emsr2d2]

I'm not sure I understand your question. Are you simply asking if normal people receive house calls from their doctor? If so, then yes, in the UK, in certain circumstances a GP will visit a patient at home. It's not as common as it used to be but it does happen. It usually involves elderly people who are incapable of attending the doctor's surgery themselves.

Being rich has nothing to do with it. Rich people can choose to use the National Health Service too. They would receive a home visit under the same circumstances as anyone else.

Some rich people choose to have private medical care. I have never had it so I don't know if home visits are more frequent for those patients.

Generally, these days, despite the wording, we take the proverb to mean that if you eat an apple every day, you will remain healthy and have no need to visit or be visited by a doctor.

 

[Jill Dorchester]

Way back when that phrase was coined, doctors regularly visited their patients at home. In the early 1970s, the practice was rare enough that it was sometimes mentioned in the context of a TV sitcom; people were considered extremely fortunate if their doctors still made house calls!

 

[Raymott]

No doubt there are cultural differences. In Aus, and in UK (as per emsr2d2), GPs (or family doctors) will often do home visits. Consultants/Specialists are rarely known to do this. In my 20+ years as a GP, I heard of one case of a specialist doing a home visit (a Rheumatologist). GPs, on the other hand, usually have one or two visits every day.

 

[Auldlangsyne]

No doubt there are cultural differences. In Aus, and in UK (as per emsr2d2), GPs (or family doctors) will often do home visits. Consultants/Specialists are rarely known to do this. In my 20+ years as a GP, I heard of one case of a specialist doing a home visit (a Rheumatologist). GPs, on the other hand, usually have one or two visits every day.

May I ask if there are minimum or maximum time slots for booked appointments down under?

 

[Raymott]

I've been out of the game for 10 years, so I'm not sure at the moment.
The usual is 10 mins if the doctor direct bills Medicare, or 15 mins if the doctor charges what they are worth. A short consultation (5 mins or less) attracts a lower standard fee, and a long (> 25 mins) a larger than standard fee; > 45 mins is called a prolonged.