Concierge Medicine - A Convenient Option

1. CONCIERGE MEDICINE - A CONVENIENT OPTION Peninsula Doctor

2. SYNOPSIS I. The Structure of a Concierge Medical Practice II. Why Physicians and Patients are choosing Concierge Medicine III. Concierge Medicine is convenient for Senior Citizens IV. Medical Treatment all year round with Concierge Medicine

3. THE STRUCTURE OF A CONCIERGE MEDICAL PRACTICE • A random one-year survey of the findings related to the concierge medicine marketplace in the US was performed. This summary of the survey of concierge medicine revealed that at the end of 2017, 30% of all new patients enrolled in Concierge medicine, the most so far. Also, in the U.S., concierge physicians operating practices were dispensing physicians able to dispense their own medicine. The next most popular medical specialty in concierge medicine was a family physician practice. This study also revealed that the number of concierge physicians, dentists and pediatric practices increased markedly since February this year. Between 5000 and 20000 physicians were practicing concierge medicine. The gap is large as there are no Federal Statistics recording concierge physicians and therefore it is difficult to estimate the exact number presently. • Concierge doctors started out as normal practicing physicians and later changed their practices. The subject of missed appointments meant little, as a poll of concierge doctors revealed that they have such a good relationship with their patients, that there were no missed appointments to speak of. • If a patient requires an urgent appointment with a physician there is a good chance he might have to wait three/four weeks or more unless there is an emergency, in which case a hospital visit may be needed. However, a concierge physician will respond almost immediately and have been known to visit patients over a weekend. Private doctors do not operate on weekends or on public holidays, however, if you have paid for your concierge doctor to be on call twenty-four hours out of twenty-four, you will get this sort of service.

4. WHY PHYSICIANS AND PATIENTS ARE CHOOSING CONCIERGE MEDICINE  The concierge doctor will, he has 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.

5. CONCIERGE MEDICINE IS CONVENIENT FOR SENIOR CITIZENS • Senior citizens, some of whom are unable to visit a doctor for one or more reasons such as they may be incapacitated, will accept this Concierge Medicine option. Possibly they cannot walk or may be permanently disabled and in a wheelchair. Also, some of these patients require special transport etc.to visit a physician. In this case some patient care by telephone is much more convenient. Many concierge medicine practices offer patient visits with an annual fee of around $150 a month. Take the case where a patient is in an old age or frail care home. Many of these facilities do not have permanent doctors on their staff able to issue a prescription or scheduled medication from a drug store. The concierge doctor is able to visit the patient in the case of a higher scheduled drug to ensure that the drug is required, after which they communicate by email or simply by telephone. • Concierge medicine is often more attractive to patients as doctors can spend more time with each individual patient. These physicians see or visit, in all probability, around 10 patients a day, whereas in primary care that would not be practical as the doctor or practice would lose out. These physicians who bill their services only when seeing a patient in their rooms, need to see 20-25 patients a day to cover expenses, whereas the concierge physician is paid a retainer by dozens of patients on a monthly basis.

6. MEDICAL TREATMENT ALL YEAR ROUND WITH CONCIERGE MEDICINE • There is a 'Fee for Care' [FFC] and covers most services and the patient gets most general services for this amount. It is either paid annually or quarterly and gets the usual treatment in the physicians' rooms. If injections (vaccinations) or other outside services such as X-Rays or blood tests for example are needed, the patient pays extra, usually cash. • The next is a ' Fee for extra Care' (FFEC) which is almost the same however, this service is where the additional fees are charged to a patient's insurance scheme or Medicare. Normally this type of fee charged included immediate access to the doctor or physician with limited of 'no wait facilities', maybe access to the doctor's cell or mobile phone plus unlimited visits to the doctor. Even email services where prescriptions for medication etc. can be obtained via electronic mail and appointments made. • The next model is a combination of both models where the physician charges a fee for amounts not covered by a Medicare or health insurance. This is a sort of 'Top -Up' service and covers any amounts not reimbursed by other services. You also get the same immediate access to the doctor or physician with limited of 'no wait facilities', access to the doctor's cell phone plus unlimited visits to the doctor. Even email services where prescriptions for medication etc. can be obtained via electronic mail and appointments made.

7. THE END Do you want to know more about Concierge Medical Practice? Visit: peninsuladoctor.com/concierge-medicine/ Peninsula Doctor 401 burgess drive, suite d, menlo park ca 94025