Primary care at home in Overland.

House call primary care in Overland

In a lot of families, one daughter, son or grandchild does the driving to the doctor, often by taking time off work. From Overland, where hospitals and specialty offices are a highway drive away, a ride that falls through means a skipped appointment and sometimes a prescription that runs out. In-home primary care follow-up arranged by Gateway brings a partner clinician to the house or apartment to review medications and follow chronic conditions. The treating clinician makes each medical decision, and we keep the family and other doctors informed.

The typical Overland home is a small bungalow or ranch house, often on one level with a few steps up to the porch. There are also duplexes and apartment complexes, and the surrounding communities have senior apartments, assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing facilities. Gateway arranges visits with partner clinicians across all of them. In a private home we plan around the patient and the caregiver’s work hours where we can. In a facility we coordinate directly with the nurses who carry out the clinician’s orders.

This page is part of Gateway's guide to primary care in St. Louis, which covers house calls, wellness visits and chronic care across the region.

What the clinician can look at

A good share of primary care happens after the clinician leaves. A blood test has to be drawn, an imaging appointment booked, a specialist’s report sent back and read. When the treating clinician writes an order, Gateway follows it through and keeps the results moving to the people who need them. Depending on where you live, some tests can be arranged at home. Others mean a trip, and we can help with lab and imaging coordination and transportation arrangements.

The visits themselves cover what you would expect from a primary care office: long-term conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure, a full medication review, follow-up after a hospital stay and a yearly wellness visit.

Who it helps

Families are often the first to see that office visits have stopped working. A parent in Overland cancels appointments because the trip is too much. Refills are handled by phone for a year without an exam. A hospital stay ends and no one follows up. These are common reasons people call Gateway about primary care at home.

The person may be mostly housebound, may be recovering from surgery or a wound, may live in assisted living, or may have no regular clinician at all. A son, daughter, spouse or neighbor can make the call. Our caregiver support page covers what families can ask for.

Why wound care and primary care go together

Swollen legs make wounds slower to heal and skin easier to break. The swelling usually has a cause somewhere else in the body, such as the heart, the kidneys, the veins or a medication. Finding that cause and managing it belongs to primary care and, at times, a specialist. Wrapping the leg and caring for the skin belongs to the wound care team.

The two depend on each other. A wound care clinician who sees a leg at every visit may be the first to notice that swelling is worse or shoes have become tight. Gateway passes that observation to the primary care clinician, who decides whether anything in the medical plan should change.

Wound care in Overland →

Homes, assisted living and skilled nursing

For someone living with dementia, a trip to a clinic can mean a strange room, a long wait and a hard day afterward. Seeing the clinician in a familiar place is usually calmer. In memory care communities in Overland, the visiting clinician can talk with the staff who know the resident’s normal routine, and a family member or legal decision-maker can join in person or by phone.

Gateway also arranges primary care follow-up in houses, apartments, assisted living and skilled nursing facilities. Availability depends on the location and the type of setting, and we confirm it before a visit is booked.

One care team, shared information

One question clears up a lot of confusion: who do I call for what? When several offices are involved, a refill request or a new symptom can bounce between them. At the start of care, ask the treating clinician’s practice how to reach them between visits and which problems should go to them, to your longtime physician, to a specialist or to the home health nurse. Write the answers down and keep them by the phone. For scheduling, records, supplies and anything that seems stuck, Gateway is the number to call.

Getting started in Overland

Here is what follows a call to 314-325-0126. First, we confirm whether a partner clinician is available for your address in Overland and for your type of residence. Next, with your permission, we request records from your doctor’s office or the hospital you were in, so the clinician arrives informed. Then we schedule the visit. After the visit, we follow through on what the clinician ordered, whether that is lab work, equipment or a referral, and keep the people you choose up to date.

• County: St. Louis County, Missouri
• ZIP codes: 63114
• Nearby hospitals: SSM Health DePaul Hospital in Bridgeton; Mercy Hospital St. Louis in Creve Coeur; Barnes-Jewish Hospital (not affiliated with Gateway)
• Nearby communities: University City, Maryland Heights, Bridgeton, Creve Coeur, North County
• Care settings: Private homes, skilled nursing, assisted living, memory care and rehabilitation

What to ask about your plan

The visit itself is not the only thing to ask about. Lab tests, imaging, medical equipment and supplies are usually billed by whoever provides them, under their own rules. Programs that add support between visits, such as chronic care management or remote monitoring, are billed separately from visits and may carry their own cost share, so ask about that before you enroll. Gateway does not quote prices. The treating practice and your health plan are the sources for what you would owe.

Common questions

Related pages

• Overland
• Primary care
• In-home primary care
• Primary care and wound care together
• Primary care at home
• Primary care at home
• Primary care at home