What To Know
- Utilizing an annual membership fee, the concierge practice lets the doctor focus on the patient and not on the insurance papers and insurance companies.
- If you are a doctor looking to have a better platform for providing better health care and start a concierge practice, you are in luck.
Concierge Medicine: Concierge medical practice is a direct care practice that entails doctors offering premium hands-on medical care to patients in search of the best possible treatment for themselves and their families. Utilizing an annual membership fee, the concierge practice lets the doctor focus on the patient and not on the insurance papers and insurance companies.
Doctors around the world have found that limiting their patient numbers and having direct access to their health situation is extremely productive. This method of medical practice is extremely efficient for preventing and controlling diseases such as hypertension and asthma, just to name a few.
If you are a doctor looking to have a better platform for providing better health care and start a concierge practice, you are in luck. In order to help you start your own direct care practice, We have compiled some essential information and steps you need to take.
Patients want the best
Nowadays, patients are done waiting and they are on the search for the best possible care money can offer. Concierge practice offers access to a physician instantly over the phone or via email. Many patients won’t think twice about going to a regular medical practitioner when they can get same-day appointments via phone.
One of the many perks of membership medical practice are the same and next-day appointments. Same-day appointments can make all of the difference in the world for patients that suffer from chronic pain and autoimmune diseases.
Reasons for starting concierge practice
Even before medical school, practitioners dreamed of saving people’s lives. Unfortunately, patients these days can only reap benefits from premium membership practices. Thanks to the concierge model, which works with upfront payments, doctors can afford to limit the number of patients and provide enhanced care for them as well as more dedicated time to the patients.
Without having to lose additional hours on arbitrary administrative things, doctors practicing membership medicine have more control over the way their patients are being treated.
Survey the area
When starting concierge medical practice it’s important to investigate whether another concierge doctor is practicing in the same service area and in which fashion. If no one is offering the same medical expertise that you offer then you are set for a great kick-off. If someone else is offering the treatment you do, don’t let that discourage you. Add your distinctive style of the doctor-patient relationship and offer more availability, better and unique services to your patients.
Types of concierge business models
There are three major business models when it comes to concierge practice:
- The Fee for Care, also called FFC, is the standard membership model where the fee paid by the patient covers things like lab work, X-rays, regular check-ups and vaccinations.
- The Fee for Extra Care (FFEC) is similar to the FFC model and often features the following perks and services: same-day access to your doctor; immediate cell phone calls, text messaging access to your doctor and unlimited office visits with no co-pay. It’s important to add that the additional services are charged to the patient’s insurance plan.
- The hybrid model is great for doctors who haven’t made a complete conversion but want to offer concierge care but don’t want to lose their current patients or their consistent income from insurance payments.
The keyword here is “retention”. Invest energy and educate your patients and that will surely kickstart a stable doctor-patient relationship. Business models should be thoroughly explained to patients and made completely clear in order to avoid any types of misunderstanding.
The average annual concierge fee is around $1,500-$2,500, or if you are a practitioner that wants to offer monthly payments, you are looking at $100 to $250 per month.
Listen to feedback
The best way to keep your practice blooming is to listen to your patients and improve accordingly. For some patients, e-mails just won’t work and you need to adapt to their needs. This is why you need to provide them with a working-hours and emergency-calls-only phone number.
Survey your patients about their experience with you and add a little review system where they can rate your services and your communication with them. Through these reviews and surveys, your business can exponentially grow, increasing the number of patients you treat.
Final Thoughts
After covering certain aspects of what a concierge practice is, we hope that it is easier for you to venture into the world of this type of medical practice.
That being said, people around the world will be grateful to have practicians who will aim to help patients directly and won’t shy away from their cellphones and email.