Will Concierge Medicine Work For My Patients?

If you are a physician considering the conversion of your traditional practice to a concierge model, you may be wondering, will concierge medicine work for my patients? And rightly so: In order for your concierge practice to be a long-term success, it needs to be a good fit for everyone affected.

You may be surprised to learn, concierge medicine can work well for a very wide variety of patients. We spoke to SignatureMD affiliated physician Dr. Joel Meshulam about the patients he feels are a good fit for concierge medicine. Here’s what he had to say:

As Joel says, if you’re asking yourself, “will concierge medicine work for my patients?” it’s important to avoid “pre-qualifying” them in your head, solely based on demographics:

One of the raps that I hear against concierge medicine is it sets up this haves and have-nots element to care. “Only rich people can afford this.” I would encourage you, if you’re contemplating this choice, not to prequalify your patients and say, “Well, this one’s not going to do it because they don’t have the money,” or “This one’s not going to do it, they’re too young,” or “This one’s not going to do it, they’re too healthy.”

You will be, I think, pleasantly surprised that you’re wrong, and that the people you think aren’t going to do it will do it.

There are also going to be people where you will say, “Absolutely. This person’s going to do it,” and they don’t.

Forget your preconceptions, don’t think about it, and go forward.

Once your patients have signed up, you may be wondering how they’ll feel about concierge medicine in practice. We encourage you to watch Joel’s take on how his patients felt after his conversion.

About SignatureMD

SignatureMD is one of the nation’s largest firms providing initial conversion and ongoing support services to concierge medicine physicians. SignatureMD currently partners with over 200 affiliated primary care physicians and specialists across 35 states, and its network is rapidly expanding.