Specialdocs Consultants and Medical Economics present this new four-part webinar, “What will you do in 2022? Mapping out your 2022 transition to concierge medicine”. In Part 4 of the webinar, the physicians talk about what effect their concierge practice has had on their work-life balance and their career in general. A Q&A portion completes our webinar with the physicians answering questions about telemedicine, patients concerns regarding concierge medicine fees, and any problems they have regarding the 24/7 availability of their practice.
Amy Loden, MD, FACP is a doctor from St. Louis, Missouri and could never find the time to take care of herself. “We tell people all the time what to do and then we don’t do it. I hated feeling like a hypocrite. I wasn’t getting any activity, I wasn’t eating right, I wasn’t getting enough sleep. It’s the old adage airlines use, put your oxygen mask on first and then you could help others.” Burned out from working long hours and not having any time with her family, she knew that she needed to make a change. She goes on to say, “I wasn’t having fun with my family before. The biggest thing it allowed me to do was to get back to who I was inside and not who I was trying to project to keep on going in the rat race. That’s what I value the most.”
For Michael Golden, MD, from Beverly, Massachusetts, he never had the time to answer his patients questions properly, to delve deep into the topic and address their concerns. “The opportunity academically to research a topic in the moment and with the patient in real-time we both get to learn things. I have the time to do that and I’m not stressed out by how that’s going to impact the day. Before, I started the day with some degree of dread and fear…that is seeping away. It’s a wonderful feeling.”
Dr. Golden goes on to talk about concerns patients may have regarding the economics of a concierge practice, namely the membership fees. “Patients aren’t in the habit of paying a membership fee to have their doctor available to them. It’s about showing them the value of what they are purchasing. I value my time and what I can offer a patient. In order to do that in a smaller model with fewer patients, this is how it works out. Initially they may not like it, but they understand it. I think it’s more affordable than most people realize.” Getting patients to understand and not see the membership fee as a deterrent to joining a concierge practice is something Specialdocs is adept at in working with physicians.
Rebecca Perlow, DO, an OB-GYN from Tarzana, California talks about what concerns she may have had regarding the 24/7 availability aspect of having a concierge practice. When physicians hear that they have to be available 24/7, it may sound daunting. But for Dr. Perlow, she didn’t find this to be a problem at all. “My patients know me and text me when they have trouble. They’re respectful of my time and don’t just text me at any time, they text me about stuff that is important to them. The 24/7 thing doesn’t even cross my mind. It takes me five minutes to talk someone off the edge, that’s time worth spent.”
Specialdocs is here to answer and alleviate any concerns or questions you may have, we want to share our wealth of expertise with you. Specialdocs can help you through each stage of building a successful concierge practice and our physician practice consulting is ongoing even after you start your practice. Click here for a comprehensive look at what some of the services are that we offer. If you’re interested to see whether your practice would be a good fit for the concierge model, take a few minutes and complete our STEP form. We are there for physicians every step of the way and look forward to hearing from you.