Curious if a concierge medical practice is right for you? We’ve gathered our top 5 reasons to join a concierge practice. Read below and let us know if any of these are a match for you.
1. Concierge doctors provide longer, more productive expert medical consultations:
Most people make an appointment with their doctor when they are sick or need a prescription refill. Why pay a copay and go through the hassle of making an appointment weeks or even months in advance otherwise? Since concierge doctors have fewer patients, they can see their patients more often and for longer periods of time. On average, a concierge doctor spends 30 minutes to 1 hour with a patient compared to the seven or eight minutes a traditional doctor spends. This allows concierge doctors to form better relationships with their patients. They quickly develop a great understanding of each patient’s medical history and issues while individualizing and customizing evaluation and treatment plans.
2. Concierge doctors are always available to their patients and patient’s families:
Part of what you’re paying for when you transition to concierge medicine is 24/7 access to your physician. Many concierge doctors will call, text, email, and video chat with patients any time of the day or night. They are available to answer health questions, address problems while traveling, and access all medical records 24/7 if needed by a physician anywhere else in the world. Most concierge doctors also guarantee same or next-day appointments in person
3. Concierge doctors provide preventive — not reactive — care.
Seeing patients more often and for longer periods of time means concierge doctors can focus on preventive care. The episodic care traditional physicians provide focuses on identifying current issues and quickly resolving those matters – in a sense traditional medicine puts out fires but does poorly at preventing them. Concierge doctors can take the time to look at your entire health history on each visit, which often helps them identify and diagnose issues as they’re developing, rather than when they’re already serious. Concierge physicians can provide advanced genomic and proteomic testing, advanced cardiac testing, and consultation with preventative experts across the world. The preventative strategy is customized and based on current medical history, family history, environmental risk factors, and advanced testing only available outside of traditional medical practices.
4. Concierge doctors can manage all aspects of patient care.
Concierge doctors have more time with each patient to talk about issues and consider how they are related to your overall health. Having a doctor familiar with your entire medical and psychiatric history helps them make important connections and diagnoses. Concierge doctors can recommend specialists as needed and coordinate and track your overall care. We function as the patient’s advocate, medical expert, and “captain of the ship” to interface and manage all aspects of health care. Concierge doctors are also excellent at managing the health of patients with chronic diseases. The frequent visits will ensure that symptoms are always being monitored and that possible disease progression is being tracked as well as new and non-traditional but effective treatment strategies.
5. Concierge medicine is cost-effective.
A concierge doctor can focus on fewer patients than a traditional physician, allowing them to focus on preventive care with better insight into each patient’s health. Because of a concierge physician’s intimate knowledge of the entire patient and close personal relationship, only the most customized and pertinent testing and treatments are employed. This leads to less unnecessary tests and treatments controlling healthcare costs and providing better patient safety. Traditional doctors have less time to spend with each patient, so they may have to order more tests or procedures to diagnose an issue. These additional treatments increase patients’ costs and exposure to unnecessary testing risks. Since concierge physicians are available 24/7, “after hours” trips to urgent care or the emergency department can be avoided. If you have a low-cost high-deductible health insurance plan, you can use the money saved on health insurance to cover the concierge medicine physician’s cost. Overall, concierge medicine leads to a higher level of service and a much better value for the patient.
