The Rise of Concierge Medicine: Saving the Independent Physician

• Can concierge medicine save primary care?
• The fear factor: what should independent physicians fear more – change or the status quo?
• Stories of life-saving change
• Busting myths about concierge medicine 
• Picking the right partner

Specialdocs CEO Terry Bauer, who has studied the evolution of concierge medicine since its inception in 1999, says: "This model holds the key to better care, lower costs, improved outcomes and more engaged physicians, and may be the only way to restore primary care to the way it was intended to be practiced."

The stakes couldn't be higher, according to podcast panelist J. Patrick Tokarz, MD, one of the first family practice physicians in the US to change to concierge medicine. "Independent practices are becoming extinct as many physicians are forced into large mega groups," he says. "But studies consistently show the best and most cost-effective care comes from small groups of primary care physicians, so we're all losing a lot when we lose this approach to healthcare."

Changing to a concierge practice offers a sustainable solution, but is a life-transforming decision approached with considerable apprehension by most physicians, acknowledges Jeffrey Puglisi, MD, who earned honors as a 'Top Doctor in Concierge Medicine' in 2016. Founding Glenville Medical Concierge Care with his two partners in 2015 was akin to "jumping off that cliff, but it has literally saved my life. The number of hours I was spending to take care of patients in a way that was not up to my standards was weighing on me daily." After transition, he's had time to pursue professional interests, make home patient visits and "truly love the practice of medicine again."

As a principal at Specialdocs since 2007, Michael Friedlander has witnessed firsthand the increasing appeal of concierge medicine both for patients who value highly personalized care and for physicians dispirited by the state of US healthcare. "The reduced reimbursements and increasing overhead that characterize traditional medicine is a formula for disaster," he asserts. "Physicians who have adopted the concierge care model have taken that broken formula off the table, and taken back control of their practices and their lives."

Specialdocs Consultants, LLC has been transitioning traditional medical practices nationwide to independent concierge models since 2002, keeping the physician's autonomy and identity at the forefront.  The company provides all the essentials and ongoing support for a concierge medicine practice through a successful transition and well beyond.

CONTACT: Mindy Kolof, 847-921-3271, [email protected]

SOURCE Specialdocs Consultants, LLC

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