Why Physicians and Patients are choosing Concierge Medicine

1. Why Physicians and Patients are choosing Concierge Medicine Recently, the whole US healthcare insurance industry moved towards concierge physicians. In order to improve healthcare as such, the insurance companies had a good hard look at primary care physicians versus the concierge type offerings. Patients were only too eager to move towards a more satisfying type of medical consultation with more time spent with a doctor. The elderly patients also have good cause to have their own ‘personal’ physician at their beck and call so to speak, with the annual payment system. The concierge physician will spend more time getting to know his patients much more intimately, and therefore, get to know their eccentricities and beliefs in their general health. Many patients have spoken out with regard to the normal and present primary healthcare physician. Elderly patients have problems finding transport getting to and from to the doctor, waiting in the rooms for up to an hour for a ten-minute consultation is not what is needed. They believe that, in a ten-minute consultation, not enough is time is given to a patient who may or may not remember quickly enough, the aches and pains that are troubling them. The primary healthcare physician is typically concerned with standard illnesses, i.e. influenza, upset stomachs and rheumatism etc., but to name a few. They are not interested in listening to a lengthy description of the patient’s ailments in detail. The concierge doctor will, he has that time to spend with his patients. He is also on call 24/7, which is a relief to some patients. The patient finds his or her concierge doctor is firstly, far more accessible and secondly, that they will not need to refresh their memory with a file each visit, as they know the patient’s full history more intimately. Not only does the concierge physician provide a better service to the industry as a whole but he is happier to spend more time with his patients. Though the patient may pay and annual fee and be completely healthy for most of the year, they are able in the majority of cases to pay with pre-tax dollars, something which they could not do previously.

2. In the US there are a shortage of physicians today and the concierge offering may induce the answer. Is it possible that healthcare may move in this direction? Definitely, with the patient doctor relationship base growing so rapidly, this could be the new norm. Physicians and medical practices in general benefit more from the annual fee which is currently around $1500 to $1700. There is a definite advantage of a one-on-one patient doctor relationship. Patients who need monthly prescriptions, can get them by telephone directly from the doctor, without a lengthy wait fora normal practicing doctor, in his rooms. There are also emergencycases for which the concierge doctor was immediately available, thus re-assuring the patient that their doctor was on call 24/7. There is a lot to be said for this service which gives peace of mind. The American Academy of private Physicians released a survey showing that at least 33% of the private practice models were of the concierge type. This in itself is a huge change in healthcare today in the US. Articles Source : http://slimweightpatch-blog.com/why-physicians-and-patients-are-choosing- concierge-medicine/