Thursday, February 21, 2008

Doctor shopping, of sorts

Yesterday I had an "interview" meeting with a new doctor. This doctor is affiliated with the concierge medicine trend. Essentially, I would pay $1500 annually, and, in turn, I see a doctor who is limited to 600 patients (down from the 2,800 he had before) with 24 hour, 7 day a week accessibility. Plus, he would manage my care across all specialists, which, when you have a chronic disease, is something incredibly valuable. They also include a detailed physical, full lab work, etc., but I'm not placing a priority on that.

I arrived around 1:45 pm for a 2 pm appointment and was immediately taken from the public waiting room to a private waiting room. The doctor came in right on time (a first!) and we spoke for about 45 minutes. I really liked him, surprisingly enough. He's not inclined recommend homeopathic medicine, he understands that patients don't particularly want to feel like a freak show, to be paraded around for everyone's interest, and is interested in establishing a long term relationship with a two way street of communication.

Long story short, I think I'm going to sign up. It's an expense I didn't particularly want, but one that I think will make a huge difference in the quality of my life.

2 comments:

  1. Glad it went well! I've never heard of this type of arrangement but it sounds good:) When you see alot of diffrent docs, it's hard to keep them all properly informed.

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  2. Good for you. A concierge doctor is going to be very good for you. However, make sure he does the things he promises. he should be both proactive and really spend the time an effort to make a difference in your life. That's when concierge medicine makes sense. It's not the tests, but the philosophy of care that is complete, proactive, and time intensive.

    Best of Luck
    Concierge Doc
    www.myconciergedoc.com

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