What it is – How it Works

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA
http://www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org
According to colleague Robert James Cimasi of Health Capital Consultants LLC in St. Louis MO, concierge or boutique medical practices began in the mid-1970s, and are now in many major metropolitan areas. Concierge medicine is described as a “return to old-fashioned medicine,” where physicians limit their client base and devote more time to each patient. Patients can usually get in to see their physician within a day, and most have 24-hour access to their physician by beeper or cell phone.
The Doctor’s Perspective
Physicians who turn to concierge medicine are typically tired of not having enough time with their patients and dealing with overbooked caseloads, and are looking for a way of balancing their lives while still providing quality care for their patients. Patients who have physicians in this type of practice appreciate the “perks” they get for paying a yearly fee — similar to “annual membership dues.” These fees can range anywhere from $1,000 per year to $10,000 per year depending on the patient’s age, benefits received, area of the country, and practice.
Patient Amenities
Amenities vary by practice, but some include longer physician office visits, increased access to physicians, e-mailed “newsletters” or condition-specific information, physicians accompanying patients on visits to specialists, and house calls. In order to provide more attentive care and amenities to patients, physicians often decrease their patient load to approximately 10-25% of their managed care load. Thus, most of their patients must find other physicians, leading to potential increases in the patient load of managed care physicians.
Elitist Patients
Although concierge medicine may provide many benefits for patients (including more, and in some cases, nearly unlimited access to their physicians), it has been met with some scrutiny. Some say that this type of medicine is elitist, that it is available only to wealthy patients who can pay the annual fees. Medicare beneficiaries who are members of a concierge practice have received political attention, because many politicians have said that the annual fees patients pay is a lot more than the Medicare rate and thus is illegal billing.

Critics
Critics also emphasize that healthcare needs to be first-rate for everyone, something that the current managed care system prevents. The implication that managed care means second-class medicine has also been a fear cited by critics.
Assessment
However, concierge physicians portray their clients as mostly middle-income people who are willing to pay more for this kind of care. Concierge medicine is not a substitute for health insurance. Patients typically keep their traditional insurance to pay for any tests or scans ordered by the physician.
MORE: https://medicalexecutivepost.com/2009/10/26/customer-relationship-management-and-the-nascent-concierge-medical-practice/
MORE: https://medicalexecutivepost.com/2009/10/26/customer-relationship-management-and-the-nascent-concierge-medical-practice/
Conclusion
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Filed under: Career Development, Glossary Terms, Health Insurance, Managed Care, Quality Initiatives, Research & Development | Tagged: boutique medicine, concierge medicine, david marcinko, hope hetico, retainer medicine, robert james cimasi, www.healthcarefinancials.com, www.HealthDictionaySeries.com | 7 Comments »