[seszett]

> Time was that doctors made house calls, knew every patient personally, and frequently cared for multiple-generations of a family

They (some) still do. But they have to have their patients' numbers, not the other way round, if they want to have a life of their own.

Some people can devote the totality of their life to patients, and it's a good thing if the article author could find some of them I guess, but most doctors also have a family and their own needs, which is extremely difficult if your patients can call you whenever they want.

Doctor or not, you don't want to risk receiving constant calls from a few particularly difficult patients at any time of the day or night while you're trying to lead a life with a husband/wife and kids. And that's not even taking into account the potential for abuse from other (or the same) patients who will find there a method to bypass appointments and to avoid paid consultations.

On the other hand, email works very well for "push requests" from patients, and is a lot less disruptive for the doctor.