Concierge+Medicine

__ ****Term:**** __ toc
 * Concierge Medicine**



__**Description:**__
Concierge medicine is a relationship between physicians and patients in which patients pay a retainer salary (usually an annual fee) for enhanced treatment. Developed as an alternative to the constraints of traditional practice, this new model allows doctors to offer more personalized care that in turn increased patient and professional satisfaction. By decreasing the total number of patients seen in an office, doctors can offer longer visits, increased and immediate accessibility, personalized coordination of hospital care and, in some cases, even house calls and accompanied visits to specialists. In return for these services, patients pay retainer fees, ranging from just under $2,000 to as much as $15,000 per year. The opponents of concierge medicine claim that the system favors the wealthy, thus limiting the the number of physicians to care for those patients who cant afford it.

** __History:__ **
The origins of modern concierge medicine can be traced to the 1990's and the concept has grown in popularity ever since

__**Applications:**__
With modern medicine's downsides comes a new trend in medical service. House calls are not just a thing of the past anymore, concierge medicine is a growing trend that has been sweeping the nation for the last decade. The convenience of an in-home doctor is believed to improve patient-doctor relationships, as well as overall patient care. With concierge medicine, clients are no longer expected to wait long hours at the hospital, have delicate procedures performed on them by unfamiliar doctors and nurses, or receive the generic doctor care that every other patient is treated to. These services are usually limited to the wealthiest, busiest, and most ill individuals. Doctors reap excess financial benefits and ideally patients receive better care.

**__Web Resources__:**
1) [|Elite Health] 2) [] 3) [|Concierge Medicine Association] 4) [|American Academy of Private Physicians]

__**Related Terminology:**__

 * Direct Primary Care
 * Private Physician
 * Medicare
 * Boutique Medicine
 * VIP Medicine

__**Citations/References:**__
1) [] 2) [] 3) []