Story by Gareth Kelly
Photos courtesy Pre – R
Way back in the good old days, things were very different. If Maribel got kicked by the family cow when she was milking it or little Tommy fell out of a tree while playing, chances were you would call or summon someone not too dissimilar from Dr. Quinn Medicine woman, who would appear at your home and, using her black doctor’s bag, would fix, heal and mend all sorts of medical ailments right there in the comfort of your own home.
How things have changed. I’m sure many of us would love Jane Seymour to come and nurse us back to health, however, unless having a heart attack or profuse bleeding, most of us get ourselves or our loved ones to the ER, our primary care physician or a Med Stop, where we fork over thousands of dollars or use our insurance to be told to take some ibuprofen.
Luckily, a new service has appeared on the streets of San Luis Obispo that harkens back to those good old days. Dr. Sam Slishman and his wife, Vanessa, recently started what they describe as “a social experiment,” with their new business venture “Pre – R,” a medical house-calls service.
“I am board certified in emergency medicine and work part time at Sierra Vista as well as having worked in ERs in Mexico and throughput the United States,” said Dr. Sam. “Years ago I started to think that perhaps I could provide medical services for a small, sliver of the existing industry. Not every problem really needs to come into the ER and many times people, especially with children or the elderly, struggle to find the time to come to the ER.
“With Pre – R, I can start by talking to a patient over the phone to see if I can help. If I can’t diagnose the problem over the phone then I can make a house call,”
There are many places people can go to for medical help these days. From Web MD to health concierge services and local free clinics, but Dr. Sam has a different outlook than what they offer.
“We are not a membership based concierge service nor do we take insurance,” he said. “We are simply offering a more flexible service designed to help those with non life threatening problems that perhaps are scared to go to the ER or don’t have insurance. We have no set fees. After we’ve diagnosed you, helped you and when you’re feeling better, then we can discuss payment. All we ask is that you pay what you think your treatment was worth; we won’t be sending round any collections guys and we are confident we can beat most deductibles.”
With tele-medicine hours from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. daily either over the phone or via Skype, Dr. Slishman believes he can fill a gap in the market and help many people from all walks of life.
“Sometimes a new mom will be wondering how much medicine to give her new baby, or maybe a girlfriend is concerned her college boyfriend may have alcohol poisoning,” he said. “These are the types of simple things I can be called for that doesn’t always require a trip to the ER. In an ER I have numerous patients all wanting attention. With Pre – R, I can focus on the one patient in the comfort of his or her own home. I can’t fix everything and can’t do things like x-rays but I believe I can save people time and money if they can be helped at home.”
Having just launched on Feb. 1, Pre – R will be hosting an open house from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19 at 387 Lincoln St., in San Luis Obispo. Currently, they are focusing on the City of SLO but should the venture grow, they hope to expand.
To find out more about all their services and perhaps save yourself a costly trip to the ER, visit them online at: www.pre-r.com or call (570) 507- 7737.
Good medical makes for good daredevils. Do you have a devilishly daring business? Gareth would love to hear about it so email him at: .
