J Health Life Sci Law. 2008 Apr; 1(3): 1, 3-38Portman RM, Romanow KThe practice of "concierge" or "retainer" medicine is growingly steadily due to economic and legal pressures on physicians. This practice model, which typically involves charging access or subscription fees to a limited pool of patients, raises legal hazards, contractual challenges, and ethical dilemmas for physicians interested in converting to concierge medicine, as well as important health policy questions. This article examines these legal and contractual issues, and discusses some of the ethical and policy implications of this relatively new form of medical practice. The authors conclude that this innovative practice form provides a beneficial alternative for patients seeking more personal, proactive, and/or intensive medical care. As concierge medicine proliferates, a wider range of practice models and fee structures should make this approach more affordable to lower and middle income patients--and help satisfy the need for greater access to preventive healthcare. Health policy makers should take steps to encourage this outcome.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Concierge medicine: legal issues, ethical dilemmas, and policy challenges.
Posted by Jimmy Simms at 10:28 PM
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Indeed! Concierge medicine offers a real and immediate solution to our current health care crisis. We don't have a "crisis of insurance" in this country; we have a crisis of "access" to "quality" medical care. Simply providing "insurance" via a nationalized health care system will only make things worse. The private sector is far better equipped to solve our medical crisis than the U.S. government. Many forms of concierge medicine are now affordable to the middle class, and the movement is growing every year. This growth is fueled not by doctors, but by patients, who desire a more meaningful relationship with their physician. When I opened one of the first concierge practice 7 years ago, there were only a few doctors practicing this form of medicine. We are now approaching 1,000 physicians, with hundreds of thousands of patients. The genie is out of the bottle and he is not going back in.
Steven D. Knope, M.D., Internist and author of CONCIERGE MEDICINE, A NEW SYSTEM TO GET THE BEST HEALTHCARE (Praeger, May 2008). www.conciergemedicinemd.com
I am a corporate lawyer and usually do not have time to spend time waiting in doctors' offices. I generally look for expedited care, VIP treament and 24-hour access to my personal physician via cell phone and email. I was looking for a concierge medical facility or plan since a year almost and lately found Elitehealth.com providing more than my wishlist. I have registered along with my wife and have made a couple of visits to our primary care physician already. We are quite pleased with the experience and would post further feedback in a few weeks time again.
http://www.elitehealth.com/concierge_healthcare.php
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