Concierge treatment (also known as drug collection ) is the relationship between patient and primary care physician in which the patient pays an annual fee or a retainer. This may or may not be in addition to other costs. In return for retainers, doctors provide improved care, including basically a commitment to limit the patient's burden to ensure adequate time and availability for each patient.
This practice has been referred to as a concierge drug, drug punggawa, drug membership, cash practice, and direct care. While all drug "concierge" practices have in common, they vary greatly in structure, payment terms, and forms of operation. In particular, they differ in the level of service provided and the fees charged. Estimates of US doctors who practice drug concepts range from less than 800 to 5,000.
Video Concierge medicine
Business model
There are usually three main types of business model concepts practiced today. Variations of these models exist, although most models usually fall into one of the following categories.
Fee for Care ('FFC') is an annual retainer model, in which patients pay monthly, quarterly, or annual levy fees to doctors. Retainer fees cover most of the services provided by doctors in their offices. Often, vaccinations, practicum, x-rays and other services are excluded and charged separately based on cash.
Fee for Extra Care ('FFEC') is similar to the FFC model, however, additional services are charged to Medicare or the patient's insurance plan. Some of the benefits and services that are normally included in both of these retainer models are: same day access to your doctor; mobile phones and text messages directly to your doctor; unlimited office visits without co-pay; little or no waiting time at the office; focus on preventive care; the atmosphere is not in a hurry; cell phones, text messages, and online consultations; recharge recipes; and convenient appointment scheduling.
FFC or retainer plans can not usually be purchased with pre-tax money using HSA and/or FSA accounts as they are not expenses incurred for services. Instead, it is more functioning as an insurance policy in which costs are paid to anticipate expenditure.
There is also a hybrid concierge model in which doctors charge a monthly, quarterly, or annual retainer or membership fee for services not covered by Medicare and insurance. These services may include: email access; telephone consultation; bulletin; annual physical; prolonged visits; and comprehensive health and evaluation plans. For all closed services, these service providers will charge Medicare and the insurance company for patient visits and services covered by the plan. This model allows doctors to continue viewing their non-retainer patients while giving patients their "concierge" fees for upgrading or "special" services. Some of the concierge practices are just basic or 'direct' basic care practices and do not accept any insurance. Thus, these practices can keep overhead and administrative costs low, thus providing affordable health care for patients.
The concierge is taking less patients than they do in conventional practice, ranging from 50 patients per doctor to 1,000, compared to 3,000 to 4,000 patients who are on average suffered by traditional doctors each year. All claims are generally accessible by phone or email at any time of the day or night or offer some other services above and beyond customary care. Annual fees vary, starting, on average, from US $ 195 to US $ 5,000 per year for an individual with additional savings when additional family members are added. Higher pricing plans generally cover most of the "closed" services where clients are not charged extra for most services (labs, xrays, etc.). Some other benefits of health care are: home visits, access to doctors around the world and accelerated emergency room care.
An informal one-year summary of findings relating to the US drug market concierge was released in February 2010. Summary of the study concluded that by the end of 2009, more than 66% of US physician practice physicians today are in-depth disease specialists; and the second most popular medical specialty in concierge treatment is family practice. The study also notes that the number of dentist and pediatric practices has increased sharply since February 2009.
In 2004, the Government Accountability Office calculated 146 such practices, mostly concentrated on the east and west coasts of the USA with practices such as MDVIP, 1 on 1 MD, and MD Signatures among the oldest. The American Medical Association does not track the number of concierge practices because the concept is so new. Low cost concrete medical business models have also been attempted, such as GreenField Health in Portland, Oregon, which charges an annual fee of between $ 195- $ 695 depending on age. The other is One Medical Group, the first low-cost conservancy medical group to try this model on a large scale, requesting an annual membership fee of $ 199.
Maps Concierge medicine
Vs. direct primary care
Both are variants of the most common traditional or primary care practices in the United States during the twentieth century. They represent financial relationships that change a single dependency on traditional insurance models.
Direct primary care (DPC) is a term often associated with a counselor in health care, 'prescription drugs'. Although both terms are similar and belong to the same family, the 'prescription drug' includes many different health care delivery models, 'direct primary care' being one.
Equation
The Direct Primary Care Practice, similar in philosophy to their concierge line of treatment, cuts insurance and goes for more 'direct' financial relationships with patients and also provides comprehensive care and prevention services.
Differences
The DPC practice eliminates one of the financial barriers to accessing care whenever needed: the annual cost of DPC often includes most or all of the services of physicians. This model does not depend on insurance payments, deductibles, or co-coating insurance fees, in contrast to models such as MDVIP and 1 on 1 MD, where annual fees are structured to cover health plans so doctors may charge insurance or Medicare fees for most other services.
DPC is a mass drug market variant of the drug, which is differentiated by its low price. Simply put, the biggest difference between primary direct care and retainer-based practices is that the DPC charges a fixed fee, while the model usually charges an annual retainer fee and promises more access to the doctor.
History
The origins of prescription drugs are often traced to MD 2 International ("MD Squared"), launched in 1996 in Seattle by Dr. Howard Maron. However, Dr Maron did not find the term "drug concierge".
Growth
According to Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) estimates, the United States faces a shortfall of more than 91,500 doctors by 2020. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) or "Obamacare" will extend reach to over 30 million Americans in decades next. After entering the insurance expansion, the United States will require close to 52,000 additional doctors and 8,000 primary care physicians (PCPs) by 2025. The number of office visits to primary care physicians is projected to increase from 462 million in 2008 to 565 million by 2025. The federal government needs more than 68,000 filling codes with an upcoming ICD-10 diagnostic coding system, a fivefold improvement from the current ICD-9 diagnostic coding system. In addition to these government requirements, doctors have regular insurance filings.
The Physicians Foundation found that 9.6 percent of "practice owners" and 6.8 percent of all practices plan to switch to cash/concierge practices over the next three years. In 2012, there are 4,400 private doctors - a 25% increase over 2011.
Controversy
The concept of concierge treatment has been accused of promoting a two-tier health system that benefits the rich, limiting the number of doctors to care for those who can not afford it, and burdening the middle and lower classes with higher insurance costs. Detractors argue that while this approach is more profitable for some doctors and makes treatment more convenient for their patients, it makes the care less accessible to other patients who are unable (or choose not) to pay the required membership fees.
At the beginning of 2008, it was reported that one health insurance company fell from their provider's network of several doctors who charge an annual fee. Other insurance companies also expressed reservations over the annual fee. Other insurers are not opposed to the drug of the concierge as long as the patient is notified that the cost will not be replaced by their health plan.
In 2003 and 2005, some members of Congress introduced or sponsored a bill that would prohibit doctors from charging retainer fees. No action is taken, and no similar bill appears to be introduced in the newer Congress. In the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, Congress directed GAO to study concierge care and its impact on Medicare patients. The GAO report, published in 2005, concludes that "a small number of concierge doctors make it unlikely that the approach has contributed to broad access issues". In his comments on the report, DHHS noted his agreement with GAO's findings and stated that it will continue to monitor trends. No specific information is available about monitoring activities.
In popular culture
The USA Network TV series Royal Pains focuses on introducing the doctor to a concierge treatment practice. A young doctor became a paid doctor for the wealthy Hamptons.
Also on the television series USA Network Rush focuses on doctors who serve very specific clients, kind with lots of cash and lots of secrets.
Robin Cook's novel Crisis focuses on medical malpractice trials involving physicians who practice prescription drugs.
See also
- Direct primary care
- Call home
- VIP Drugs
References
External links
- The fee-based concierge practices the problem links
- Concierge Drug Blog
- Journal of Scout Medicine - Blog News â ⬠<â â¬
- http://conciergemedicinetoday.org/2013/07/19/
Source of the article : Wikipedia