Concierge Medicine Directory

The complete directory of Concierge Medicine in the United States is online. Concierge Medicine goes by many names, boutique medicine, retainer medicine, executive health, VIP medicine, and personalized medicine. Finding the right Concierge Doctor is the most important step for patient considering the best care. Concierge Doctor is a new style of practice with old roots, in which doctors limit their patient base in order to provide patients with personalized service, high quality care, 24-7 availability, and other amenities. In exchange for this enhanced personal attention, patients pay physicians an annual fee. This concierge fee enables physicians to increase their compensation while managing their workload. In addition to receiving an annual fee, most Concierge Medicine continue to receive reimbursements from health plans and private pay clients.

Concierge Medicine is a relationship between a patient and a primary care physician in which the patient pays an annual fee or retainer. This may or may not be in addition to other charges. In exchange for the retainer, doctors provide enhanced care. Other terms in use include boutique medicine, retainer-based medicine, and innovative medical practice design. The practice is also referred to as membership medicine, concierge health care, cash only practice, direct care, direct primary care, and direct practice medicine. While all Concierge Medicine practices share similarities, they vary widely in their structure, payment requirements, and form of operation. In particular, they differ in the level of service provided and the amount of the fee charged. There are an estimated 5,000 concierge, or membership medicine doctors throughout the U.S. Concierge Medicine care for fewer patients than in a conventional practice. All generally claim to be accessible via cell phone or email at any time of day or night or offer some other special service beyond the normal care provided. The annual fees vary widely, from $600 to $5,000 per year for an individual, with the lower annual fees being in addition to the usual fees for each service and the higher annual fees including most services.

Some concierge practices do not accept insurance of any kind. These are as cash-only or direct primary care practices. By refusing to deal with insurance companies, these practices can keep overhead and administrative costs low, thereby providing affordable healthcare to patients. They become concierge only if the practice assesses an annual or monthly fee instead of or in addition to a fee for each medical service. Other concierge practices do take insurance, even Medicare, but ask for an annual fee for additional services exclusive of insurance plans. This annual fee is not a substitute for medical insurance, and generally does not cover consultations outside the practice, laboratory procedures, medicines, hospitalizations, or emergency care from other providers.

VIP Medicine

VIP Medicine is a type of medical practice now found in many metropolitan areas across the country. VIP Medicine has come to represent a higher level of healthcare for those who want a more personalized relationship with their physician. At the upper echelon are the practice associations, like IPA Health, which integrate the traditional concierge model and match it with an advanced level of diagnostic care and true concierge services. IPA Health members enjoy the benefit of having access to on-site laboratories and the best diagnostic equipment available in medicine today. The ability to make most diagnoses in a single visit saves concierge patients the time of having to return to the office for a follow-up visit. This, in complement with a dedicated Patient Care Concierge and the ability to network and consult online through a patient portal sets the IPA Health model above most other concierge practices found nationwide. VIP Medical services include the following:

IPA Health redefines the concept of Concierge Medicine. As a Concierge member, you will be assigned a Patient Care Concierge who will manage all aspects of the IPA Health experience, from transportation and accommodation (if you are coming from out of town), to medical evacuation if you experience a health emergency while traveling. VIP medicine at IPA Health is a healthcare service that is available to all people and is extremely affordable. Finally, a meaningful option for individuals and families seeking personalized attention from their doctor. A doctor can spend as much time with a patient as the patient needs. Wellness and prevention can be as much the center of attention as the immediate problem. The fundamental concept of Medicine Concierge is to bring back the old fashioned medical care. The number of patients are decreased by 90 percent of a conventional medical practice, our physicians are able to spend prolonged visits with our patients, and provide 24/7 physician availability via cell phone and see patients same-day.

Vitiligo

Vitiligo or leukoderma is a chronic skin disease that causes loss of pigment, resulting in irregular pale patches of skin. The precise cause of vitiligo is complex and not fully understood. There is some evidence that suggests a combination of autoimmune, genetic and environmental factors causes vitiligo. The incidence of vitiligo worldwide is between one and two percent. According to the Diseases Database, the disorder appears in of areas of macular depigmentation, commonly on extensor aspects of extremities, on the face or neck, and in skin folds. The age of onset is often in young adulthood and the condition tends to progress gradually with lesions enlarging and extending until a quiescent state is reached. Half of the people living with vitiligo develop patches of de-pigmented skin appearing on extremities before their 20s. The patches may grow, shrink or remain constant in size. Patches often occur symmetrically across both sides on the body. Occasionally small areas may re-pigment as they are recolonised by melanocytes. The location of vitiligo affected skin changes over time, with some patches re-pigmenting and de-pigmenting.

Concierge Doctors is a relationship between a patient and a primary care Doctor in which the patient pays an annual fee or retainer. This may or may not be in addition to other charges. In exchange for the retainer, doctors provide enhanced care. Other terms in use include boutique medicine, retainer-based medicine, and innovative medical practice design. Concierge doctors

Pediatrics

Pediatricians are doctors who care for children from birth to early adulthood. They specialize in diseases and ailments specific to young and growing bodies. Pediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. The age limit of such patients ranges from birth to 18. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician. Pediatrics differs from adult medicine in many respects. The obvious body size differences are paralleled by maturational changes. The smaller body of an infant or neonate is substantially different physiologically from that of an adult. Congenital defects, genetic variance, and developmental issues are of greater concern to pediatricians than they often are to adult physicians. Treating a child is not like treating a miniature adult. A major difference between pediatrics and adult medicine is that children are minors and, in most jurisdictions, cannot make decisions for themselves. The issues of guardianship, privacy, legal responsibility and informed consent must always be considered in every pediatric procedure. In a sense, pediatricians often have to treat the parents and sometimes, the family, rather than just the child. Adolescents are in their own legal class, having rights to their own health care decisions in certain circumstances.