The concierge medicine model seems to be the latest developed to manage exorbitant healthcare costs. It is promoted as being patient-centered and benefiting the patient, who pays a large sum in advance for promises of unlimited access to their physician.
My personal physician does not participate in this model, and if she did, I would change practices. She has been my primary care provider for many years, and we have a relationship based on trust. If I were put in the awkward position of having to continue her services under this new model, I would consider it unfair and certainly not in my best interest.
My opinion would be that this model was developed by providers for providers to shift the financial burden of decreased revenues to the patient. Insurance, particularly Medicare, provides poor reimbursement. It is a heavy burden to maintain the overhead of a practice with shrinking reimbursements. Everyone suffers as physicians are encouraged to see more and more patients in less time, along with the demands of a litigious society. I can understand that it is a very taxing career.
But when I consider the reality of this new model, I really question who benefits. The promise is access to cellphones, services any time day or night. Really? Consider a small number of patients – for example 100. So all of them have unrestricted access? And the phone would always be answered for everyone?
Would I ever even come close to spending the amount of money charged by this service model in a year?
Let’s say the yearly charge is $1,800, where a typical copay for traditional insurance may now be around $30 for a visit. That equals 60 visits a year.
And this is to benefit the patient? Who has visited their doctor that many times in a year? And insurance still needs to be used for any diagnostic tests, etc.
The picture is very clear to me. Buyer beware. I don’t appreciate costs being shifted to the consumer and having it being portrayed as patient-centered. Let’s call it what it really is: a new model that shifts costs to the consumer while touting unrealistic promises. My opinion. I don’t see this practice model as being a sustainable option.
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