Quote:
Originally Posted by serenityseeker
I am a 44 y/o internist that will be relocating to the villages within a few years if not sooner. My parents live there and my wife loves it. We are looking to go ahead and purhcase soon.
My question is not simple so let me explain. A "concierge" (I really dislike the term but it seems to have stuck) practice is one that usually requires a yearly fee(not sure what yet but typically from 1000 - a few thousand dollars a year) from the patients to be a part of the practice. The fee allows the physician to limit his patient load to perhaps 200-300 patients instead of the normal 2000-4000 it typically takes to sustain a practice. This in turn allows the physician the ability to gaurantee same day appointments, phone access, longer appointment times(45 mins to 1 hr), house calls, and truly treat the patient without running them in and out like the cattle shutes many practices have turned into by necessity. In my case I would not deal with insurance companies or medicaire, leaving the patient the responsibility to file that paperwork, again leaving more time and resources for the patients, not office overhead.
While this may sound a little unconventional or elitist(I assure you it's really not) I think there is sound reasoning for it. I left a private practice because the pressure to see more and more patients while losing more and more money each year was overwhelming. This is the same boat all of my collegues are in. I am now a hospitalist and pretty happy with it, but still feel I could do much more in a controlled outpatient setting.
All of that being said, I wonder what level of interest there would be in this type of practice at or near TV. I will have finished an anti-aging fellowship, and special certification in geriatrics by then.
Just thought I would throw this out for some feedback.
Thanks for taking the time to read and reply.
|
Are there now any concierge medical services in The Villages? My parents are new residents, and are not happy with the quality of medical services, and would be very interested in a concierge plan. Thanks.