What is Concierge Medicine?

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With the influx of technological gadgetry and more regulation into the healthcare industry, physicians seem to be spending less time with patients and more time on the computer. Electronic medical records systems, which are now government mandated must be used to record most of the data extracted during a patient visit with his or her doctor. This, inherently, has cut back on the actual time the patient spends with his or her physician during their appointment time.

As a result of feeling like they are no longer properly practicing medicine, the morale of many good physicians is down. Looking for a better, more personal way to deal with patients is on the horizon. Many physicians have turned much of their patient load over to nurse practitioners or physicians’ assistants. But, the Internet and wellness and prevention are playing an intricate part in a new style of practice called concierge medicine.

Losing Control

Concierge medicine is a direct result of physicians feeling like they have lost control of their profession. Inside an average day, the physician spends 2 to 3 hours just typing in data into a computer terminal and not having hands on their patients. This trend is impersonalizing medicine like the United States has never seen before. Concierge medicine is a forced format in order to do the best for each patient in the shortest amount of time, at the cheapest rate.

The Outline

It is almost unheard of for one physician to be in a stand-alone practice any longer. Groups have formed in order to share office space, alternating days of the week to see patients and reducing overhead. The new electronic medical records systems, which are mandatory to purchase are too expensive for one or two physicians to purchase. With larger groups forming, there is a new outline that has to be customized for every practice, hopefully making the survival of physicians to be accomplished.

Time to Reconnoiter

There is an intense shuffle, which must take place in these groups of physicians in order to stick to a regimen that hopefully helps everyone involved. In the beginning, there will be a reimbursement of patients. Each physician will take a lesser load, but they will be evenly distributed among the group. Then, each patient will pay a fixed amount annual fee. This fee will cover an annual visit with a detailed 1 to 2 hour check up and quality time with that patient’s physician will be allowed. The rest of the year, much information will be made available for more of a prevention and wellness scope of practice. In most of these groups, there is also 24-hour physician availability via phone answering service. Some physician groups are still caring for their patients during hospital stay, but many of them have been turned over to a hospitalist.

The concierge model of practice is growing, and it is estimated that more than 4,000 U.S. physicians have adopted some variation of it. Most are general internists, with family practitioners, second. It is attractive to physicians because they are relieved of much of the pressure to move patients through quickly, and they can devote more time to prevention and wellness.