Primary Care at Home: The Lutanen Physician Housecall Program

Home-Based Geriatric Care

At Lutanen Health, home-based primary care is a deliberate way of practicing medicine for older adults whose health is shaped by mobility, environment, and daily function.

For patients with mobility limitations, complex medical needs, or a preference for care at home, the home is often the most informative clinical setting. It allows the physician to assess factors that are difficult to capture in an office visit: movement and fall risk, medication organization, nutrition, safety, caregiver support, and daily routines.

This approach draws on the tradition of the physician’s home visit while applying modern internal medicine and geriatric standards. Visits are unhurried, comprehensive, and designed around the patient rather than a clinic schedule.

Why Care in the Home Matters

Providing care in the home enables a depth of assessment and continuity that cannot be replicated elsewhere.

Clinical Context: The home environment reveals essential information about mobility, cognition, medication adherence, nutrition, and social support, all of which directly affect outcomes in later life.

Comprehensive Care: Extended visits allow for thorough examinations, careful medication review, and thoughtful treatment planning over time.

Academic Medicine: Care is delivered by physicians trained and practicing within Harvard-affiliated academic medical systems, bringing evidence-based geriatrics and internal medicine into the home.

Continuity Across Transitions: Home-based care supports close coordination during hospitalizations, recoveries, and changes in living arrangements, with direct communication among specialists, home services, and family members.

Preserving Independence: Receiving care at home minimizes disruption and supports autonomy while maintaining a high level of medical oversight.

Scope of Home-Based Care

When clinically appropriate, care in the home may include:

Physician visits conducted in the residence

Comprehensive geriatric assessments, including mobility and cognitive evaluation

Medication optimization and safety review

Coordination with home health, therapy, palliative, or hospice services

Post-hospital and post-discharge follow-up

Guidance around care transitions and advance care planning

The physician remains directly involved, ensuring care is integrated and coherent rather than fragmented.

A Restored Standard of Care

Home-based physician care was once foundational to medicine. Practiced thoughtfully, it remains one of the most effective ways to care for older adults with complexity.

By bringing rigorous internal medicine and geriatric care into the home, Lutanen Health delivers care that is observant, personal, and aligned with how patients live and age.

About the Author:

Dr. Julia Loewenthal is an internist and geriatrician at Lutanen Health specializing in integrative primary care and healthy aging. Board certified in Internal and Geriatric Medicine, she is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and a faculty fellow with the Osher Collaborative for Integrative Medicine. Her work combines clinical depth, compassion, and mind-body expertise to support lifelong wellness.

Dr. Julia Loewenthal, MD

September 4, 2025