Switching to a concierge medical care plan isn’t just about the convenience of better access to and more one-on-one time with your physician; it’s a patient-focused, relationship-based model that makes a real impact on your long-term health and well-being. Working with a physician who offers a concierge model of care means having continuous access to someone who is not only an expert in primary care, but in your specific medical history and ongoing needs. With more and more patients expressing dissatisfaction with the conventional approach to medicine, the appeal of concierge medicine is that it brings you tangible health results. Today, we’ll be going over just a few of those. Let’s jump in.

One of the hallmarks of concierge medicine is that patients get 24/7 access to their primary care physician via text, email, or phone. Whether you think of a question that you forgot to address during your appointment, experience an unprecedented symptom, or are faced with a medical emergency, your physician is always available to help and advocate. This isn’t just a plus for your peace of mind; it completely goes against the days – or even weeks – that some patients face waiting just to have a direct conversation with their doctor. By giving you guaranteed access to your physician around the clock, concierge medicine ascertains that you get the most timely care possible.

The average conventional doctor’s appointment lasts about 17 minutes, during which the patient and doctor each get about five minutes total, on average, to talk. This leaves very little room for physicians to get a comprehensive understanding of their patient’s health circumstances. Your symptoms are simply a sign that something is amiss; they can be caused by a variety of factors, including lifestyle, pre-existing conditions, family history, diet, stress levels, sleep habits, activity levels, and genetic makeup, to name just a few. The average conventional doctor’s appointment leaves very little time for physicians to examine each of these factors. This means that patients are often given medications that reduce their symptoms but do nothing to uncover the underlying cause of illness. While this kind of treatment may reduce symptoms in the short term, it’s unlikely to improve your health in the long term.

Concierge medicine gives physicians and patients the time to delve deeply into the patient’s unique health history, present circumstances, and goals, coming up with a plan that both addresses symptoms and treats the underlying cause of illness for tangible health results in the long term.

The number of Americans who regularly visit the doctor has been steadily declining over time. On top of that, the number of adults with a primary care physician has notably gone down, as well. Whether it’s due to rising insurance costs, a general dissatisfaction with short appointment times, or a combination of reasons, less people are going to the doctor in general, which means that less people are receiving necessary preventive care. Taking a preventive and proactive approach to your health is one of the most powerful benefits you can get from having a personal physician. When you work with a concierge physician, you have unfettered access to an expert who is attuned to your unique needs and who remains consistently up to date with your health journey, meaning that they can think ahead about how to prevent serious issues down the line and optimize your health for years to come.

Concierge medicine brings you tangible health results because it grants you unlimited access to your physician, meaning that you are always able to receive timely care. The quality of the care itself is also important to consider: because of longer, uninterrupted appointments and ongoing updates, a concierge physician is able to treat the underlying causes of your illness, offering effective preventive care that optimizes your wellness long-term. If you’d like to learn more about what else a concierge medical plan has to offer based on your unique health needs, don’t hesitate to schedule a consultation with us.