Why Concierge Medicine Will Get Bigger —CBS Marketwatch

Many Physicians Find Personalized Service is Increasingly Popular Among Patients 

Elizabth O’Brien at CBS Marketwatch writes that plenty of baby boomers have done the math on so-called “concierge” medicine (also known as “boutique,” “personalized” or “private physician” practices)  and deemed the investment worthy. In the typical concierge experience, a primary-care doctor accepts insurance for routine services but also charges a non-reimbursable fee that pays for amenities like 24/7 access to the doctor, same-day appointments, longer appointment times and a greater degree of personalized attention. The annual fee for such practices currently averages about $1,800.  More:

While the number of concierge doctors remains small, it’s growing at a rapid clip. In the U.S., there were about 4,400 private physicians in 2012, a 25% increase from 2011, according to the American Academy of Private Physicians. That’s out of some 600,000 practicing doctors nationwide. At an average of roughly 350 patients per concierge doctor, that means more than 1.5 million Americans are under the care of a physician who provides an additional level of service in exchange for a fee.

Concierge medicine’s perceived advantages will only grow in the coming years, experts say, as the traditional health-care system becomes even more strained. The full implementation of the Affordable Care Act next year is expected to bring more than 20 million formerly uninsured patients into the health-care system through 2022, exacerbating an existing physician shortage.

What’s more, proposed changes to Medicare could cut doctors’ reimbursements, further squeezing their revenue. Concierge doctors make the case that their fee cushions them, and by extension their patients, from these changes looming on the health-care horizon.

Read the whole piece here. 

 

 

Many Physicians Find “Concierge Medicine” Is Increasingly Popular Among Patients

see also:

• Leslie Michelson: Doctor to the 1% (and Maybe Someday to You)  —Wall Street Journal (9/21/2012)
• Will Concierge Medicine’s Image Improve as it Evolves?    —AMA News (9/3/2012)
• John C. Goodman: Why the Doctor Can’t See You  —Wall Street Journal (8/14/2012)