Concierge Medicine

[Anonymous]

I’m not comfortable with Amazon owning One Medical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone use a concierge doctor for their primary care?

I have an opportunity to join a practice but the cost is giving me pause. It's over $2K.

I am in my early 60's and do have a lot of medical issues so I think it would be helpful at this point in my life. If I were younger and healthier I wouldn't consider it.

My other option would be One Medical.

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated, thank you in advance.

I never see my primary care doctor. There is no point. I just skip and go right to specialists.

[Anonymous]

I was a member of a concierge practice. We paid $1800 a year for the two of us and we could use our insurance. It was excellent.Then the doctor decided to close her practice and we didn’t like any of the other doctor options the concierge company presented. We joined One Medical and have been very happy so far. I’m

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like one medical a lot but I don’t have anything complicated going on. But being able to be seen quickly, remotely or in person, is great. The office staff is great and everything administrative is easy. When I do see my main doctor, she spends a lot of time with me. I love that they have a blood draw person in the office. I wish they had a dentist, then it would be perfect.

Thank you for sharing your experience with One Medical. It does sound very convenient to have a phlebotomist right there in the office. Would save me from having to go the lab.

I'm so confused by all of you posting about having to somewhere else to get your blood drawn. I have literally NEVER had a PCP that did NOT have a lab in their office. I currently go to an INOVA-affiliated practice, before that, I went to a VHC-affiliated practice, and before that, I went to a private practice. They all had phlebotomists who took my blood. My INOVA practice usually has results the next day. Needing a blood draw is not a reason to pay $2000 for a concierge doc, you can get that anywhere.

[Anonymous]

Not in the DC area but my nephrologist just moved to a concierge practice. They accept no insurance. He said he could no longer deal with not having enough time for his patients and being micro managed by a big corporation. He was apologetic but said he has to make decisions about his career that are best for his family and that allowed him to give his patients the kind of care all should get.

I can't follow him because I can't afford it. It is definitely elite healthcare for those with money.

[Anonymous]

Does One Medical have an element of concierge to it? I seem to remember that, when Potomac Physicians Associates busted up, some went to pure concierge, and others re-formed as One Medical…but there was still a cost? I went to someone else, who is now of course going concierge! Like a PP, I despise this trend.

[Anonymous]

I'm in the same boat with my PCP going concierge.

I have a rare condition being managed by specialists who respond quickly to questions.

The primary care doctor is not going to mess around with treatment for those conditions, which are well beyond her pay grade, so I wondering what value I'd get from paying such a large annual fee.

[Anonymous]

I guess I don't see the point of a PCP concierge doctor. I have a couple health conditions and see specialists for them. I rarely actually go to my PCP for anything beyond a yearly physical because my health conditions are followed by my GI doc and cardiologist.

[Anonymous]

I get concierge service by simply being tenacious and persistent. If I need help, I document it by sending a note through their portal. You have to find a way to bypass gatekeepers for sure. Squeaky wheel!

[Anonymous]

I loved one medical until I developed a serious medical condition. I was misdiagnosed, had bad side effects from meds they put me on and couldn’t reach my specific doctor because of their weird model, and was given advice that could have seriously harmed me. Fortunately I had two specialists at other practices who were highly responsive and helped undo the damage. I switched to a concierge doctor after all this and value that I can reach her specifically when I need her. One medical is really good for healthy people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like one medical a lot but I don’t have anything complicated going on. But being able to be seen quickly, remotely or in person, is great. The office staff is great and everything administrative is easy. When I do see my main doctor, she spends a lot of time with me. I love that they have a blood draw person in the office. I wish they had a dentist, then it would be perfect.

Thank you for sharing your experience with One Medical. It does sound very convenient to have a phlebotomist right there in the office. Would save me from having to go the lab.

I'm so confused by all of you posting about having to somewhere else to get your blood drawn. I have literally NEVER had a PCP that did NOT have a lab in their office. I currently go to an INOVA-affiliated practice, before that, I went to a VHC-affiliated practice, and before that, I went to a private practice. They all had phlebotomists who took my blood. My INOVA practice usually has results the next day. Needing a blood draw is not a reason to pay $2000 for a concierge doc, you can get that anywhere.

Same, this is very common and not hard to find. My practice that just recently affiliated with inova has always had this available.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like one medical a lot but I don’t have anything complicated going on. But being able to be seen quickly, remotely or in person, is great. The office staff is great and everything administrative is easy. When I do see my main doctor, she spends a lot of time with me. I love that they have a blood draw person in the office. I wish they had a dentist, then it would be perfect.

Thank you for sharing your experience with One Medical. It does sound very convenient to have a phlebotomist right there in the office. Would save me from having to go the lab.

I'm so confused by all of you posting about having to somewhere else to get your blood drawn. I have literally NEVER had a PCP that did NOT have a lab in their office. I currently go to an INOVA-affiliated practice, before that, I went to a VHC-affiliated practice, and before that, I went to a private practice. They all had phlebotomists who took my blood. My INOVA practice usually has results the next day. Needing a blood draw is not a reason to pay $2000 for a concierge doc, you can get that anywhere.

Same, this is very common and not hard to find. My practice that just recently affiliated with inova has always had this available.

I'm trying to have my blood taken in the same system (Inova) so I don't have to carry copies of every test to my various doctors. Then it all goes on mychart and I can see the trends.

[Anonymous]

I like my concierge doctor - I feel like I get more time with the doctor so he knows me better, knows and understands my underlying conditions and remembers me from visit to visit. And he is more responsive so I can touch base between visits by email or text.

[Anonymous]

Like with anything else in life spend money on what you value where you feel it does the greatest good. Some want the reassurrance of a physician at their beck & call. Some want a nice vacation to reset their mental health from a busy life, some want designer clothes and accessories to feel like they've made it, others want the best possible education for their kids money can afford, etc. Once you pay for the essentials there's only so much money to go around, spend it as wisely as you see fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, my husband and I use one - $2k per year.

I love just breezing into her office to get my blood drawn without having to go to a hospital with all of it's sign-in's and insurance registrations. I love having access to her 24/7 by text or phone.

Her office is old-fashioned and cozy - not "clinical" - she also makes house calls. If I need a specialist she takes care of all of the referrals.

The health care system in this country is going to collapse eventually - I'm glad to have a relationship with a dedicated doctor beforehand.

+1000

It is so worth it, if you can afford it. When I need to see a specialist, the office handles all the scheduling. No more sitting on the phone for 45 mins to schedule an appt. Ours is part of a "hospital system" as that is how the medical system is run where we live (90% of docs are part of a hospital system). I called yesterday and got an appt today for a family member who wont be home until this morning. Took me 3 mins to get that done. Means we get to see our dr or one in the practice rather than sitting at urgent care for a NP/PA/who knows who you will see. It means my doc calls with lab/radiology/all results, rather than just sending an email/leaving a message.

They get specialist appts sooner than I could if I called on my own...it's a perk of CM and worth every penny if you can manage the price.