Are Concierge Doctors Worth It?

Concierge medicine, or concierge healthcare, is a broad term that focuses on individualized healthcare and involves a more personal, prioritized relationship between a doctor and a patient. Patients may pay a fixed yearly or monthly fee so they can more easily reach their provider. There may be other costs involved, including same-day appointment fees and a one-time initial start-up fee for joining the practice.

In general, a concierge practice will give you:

• One-on-one attention: Personalized care is the cornerstone of a concierge practice. Your provider may spend more time with you during appointments, offer testing that isn’t available in a standard primary care setting, or dive deeper into preventative care. Some concierge providers give their personal mobile number to their patients to foster an old-fashioned relationship where the doctor is available for urgent matters at any time of the day.
• Visits with the same provider: In many primary care practices, you might be scheduled with a nurse practitioner or physician assistant if your doctor isn’t available. In concierge medicine practices, you typically see the same provider every time.
• Off-hours appointments: Your provider may hold evening and weekend appointments for more personalized availability. Alternatively, they may offer telemedicine visits during the workday as your schedule allows.
• A predictable fee schedule: Concierge practices operate on a fee-based schedule. You may pay the fee once a year or in convenient installments. Many will also charge insurance for sick visits and follow-ups.

The pros of concierge medicine are immediate appointments with a physician — sometimes around the clock — and priority treatment for testing and follow-up appointments. Providers may be willing to answer questions by phone, text, or email at any time of the day.

Personalized, Preventive Care

Preventive care focuses on more regular checkups, screenings, and lifestyle counseling. Your provider may see you more regularly, make recommendations for healthy living, and refer you to specialists if necessary to screen for more serious health conditions.

Instead of focusing on disease, preventive medicine promotes wellness. Many people who seek out concierge providers may find that preventive care becomes easier due to the availability of appointments with the provider and the focus on holistic wellness.

Faster and More Convenient Services

If you have several medical concerns that necessitate the involvement of a primary care doctor, concierge medicine may be a good fit. Similarly, if you are in overall good health and wish to have a provider with near-unlimited availability, this model could work well for you. You will have near-immediate appointments and contact with your provider through multiple means of communication, such as text, email, or direct message on a patient portal, to resolve any urgent issues quickly.

Stronger Doctor-Patient Relationship

If you’ve ever felt embarrassed to discuss your current symptoms with a provider you barely know, the strong doctor-patient relationship of concierge medicine can make these situations feel less awkward. Developing a deeper relationship with a provider who knows you well allows you to focus on individualized health goals for your mental and physical wellness

This closer relationship benefits providers as well. Because they maintain closer contact with their patients over a longer period of time, they are in a better position to spot differences in a patient’s demeanor, mood, or physical status. If the provider notices anything amiss, they can recommend specific screenings or treatments to help. They may also refer you to a specialist to get to the source of the problem.

As with anything else, there are concierge medicine pros and cons. On the surface, it may seem that a concierge model could take care of all your medical needs and more. However, some patients conclude that the out-of-pocket costs are too high, some essential services aren’t covered, and the waiting list for new patients may be too long.

Cost of Membership

Concierge practices may charge between $1,500 and $10,000 per year. These fees may cover appointments, tests, preventive care, and follow-ups with the concierge provider. They may be eligible for health savings accounts or flexible spending accounts. You have to pay other out-of-pocket fees for additional testing, extensive physical exams, or wellness programs.

Not All Services May Be Covered

If you need to visit one or several specialists regularly for a complex health condition, concierge medicine may be an unnecessary expense. Like other out-of-pocket services, concierge medicine sometimes does not cover every test, treatment or prescription.

If you are rarely sick or unsure whether you will use this service regularly, concierge medicine may not be a good choice for you.

Availability Limits

Once considered a luxury due to its high costs, concierge medicine has become a more affordable type of care. To provide affordable care, however, concierge medicine had to settle for a couple of limitations.

Longer appointments and on-call availability for existing patients — both mainstays of concierge practice — also mean long waitlists for patients hoping to join the practice.

Geographic location can also impede people from relying on concierge medicine. Concierge offices are often limited to urban or affluent suburban areas, which leaves those in rural areas or without transportation little chance of making it to the office. Some offices offer virtual appointments, but these long-distance visits cannot replace physical examinations, testing, and bloodwork for most patients.

What is the difference between the care you get from a concierge doctor vs. a primary care physician at a traditional practice? Learn about the biggest differences in their approaches so you can decide on the best option for your situation.

Appointment Length and Focus

When you see a traditional primary care provider for a medical issue, you may expect to sit in the waiting room for at least 30 minutes, feel rushed through a short 10- to 15-minute appointment, and wonder whether your medical concerns were truly addressed. Did the provider find the root cause, or did they write a prescription as a quick band-aid for the issue? It's often not the fault of the provider, but traditional physicians often must see dozens of patients every day just to be successful.

Availability and Communication

After a check-up or visit with your regular primary care provider, you may fill a prescription and not see your provider until you get sick again. In a concierge practice, not only do you visit your concierge doctor when you've got a sinus infection or need a flu test, but the concierge model also focuses on wellness and preventive care.

With this in mind, you may see your concierge provider more regularly — not just when you're sick. You'll also be able to ask questions whenever you want, and their answers may be more in-depth than those you would receive from a primary care doctor in a conventional practice.

Preventive Health Emphasis

Because concierge doctors develop a deeper relationship with their patients and remain in more frequent contact with them, their care often extends beyond watching current symptoms. They will become aware of your lifestyle, diet, hobbies, passions, and your most important relationships.

It may sound odd that your primary care doctor would need to know anything else about you aside from the immediate concern addressed at your appointment. However, knowing your personality, lifestyle, and priorities allows your provider to deliver better care and a more comprehensive wellness plan. It can alert them to certain risks or habits — like smoking cigarettes, getting too little sleep, or eating takeout meals more often than cooking at home — that may be standing in the way of better health.

Concierge medicine benefits these three categories of patients the most.

• Busy professionals: Professionals like executives and entrepreneurs already wear enough hats in their daily lives. Many are juggling work, relationships, families, and other extracurricular obligations. When in this position, it's easy to forgo scheduling the much-needed appointments. Having a concierge provider on call allows busy professionals to focus on their health within the limited time they have.
• Health-conscious individuals: Perhaps you want to be the healthiest version of yourself to tackle your daily life. Or, maybe something feels off in a way that you can't put your finger on, but your current provider has dismissed your bloodwork and scans as "normal." Concierge medicine can be the right choice for focusing on preventive care and getting the personalized, comprehensive attention you need.
• Those seeking personalized relationships: If you feel that your doctor-patient relationship is lacking in time, compassion, or focus, concierge medicine may be a good choice for you. The concierge healthcare model allows you to have a deeper relationship with your provider and get more personalized health recommendations according to real-time inputs about your health condition and lifestyle.

Many patients feel rushed and unheard by their medical providers. At least 65% of American adults report that navigating healthcare is "time-consuming" and "overwhelming." A whopping 73% of these individuals report that the healthcare system in the U.S. does not meet their needs.1 Often, this failure is not the fault of the provider, but of the system that governs the rules for providers.

Concierge medicine offers a personalized alternative to the standard doctor-patient model. To determine whether it's the right choice for you, review your health goals and your budget for medical care. Finally, ask yourself the most important question: Are you getting what you need from your existing doctor-patient relationship?

If you're wondering how to find a concierge doctor, you may have already decided to pursue a more in-depth doctor-patient relationship. Maybe you're ready to join the wellness-oriented practice you've found, or perhaps you have a few questions before you make the leap.

While MDVIP-affiliated practices offer similar conveniences to concierge programs, MDVIP goes beyond concierge by focusing on preventive care with a highly ranked wellness program. Our team is ready to help you find the right provider for your needs and enroll in wellness programs to achieve your health goals.

A membership-based wellness program with an annual fee, the MDVIP Wellness Program consists of advanced tests and diagnostic screenings that can help identify health risks earlier. Each year, you will receive a customized health plan from your doctor based on the results of those tests.

Contact MDVIP today to begin your individualized healthcare journey.