In simpler times, most Americans lived in villages and knew all their neighbors, and local doctors routinely made house calls to care for their patients.

Those times are gone. But patient convenience is still an important factor in the fast-changing health care system.

In a new GHN Commentary, John Marrero, SouthCoast’s health administrator, writes of the emerging importance of after-hours appointment times, potential video consultations with a doctor, and “Big Data’’ to improve patient outcomes.

“In the end, the goal is to make health care come full circle — for the health care of the future to resemble that of the past,’’ Marrero writes.

Here’s a link to his Commentary.

Georgia Health News welcomes Commentary submissions. If you would like to propose a Commentary piece for Georgia Health News, please email Andy Miller, editor of GHN, at amiller@georgiahealthnews.com