Today’s healthcare choices can be overwhelming and when a new idea enters the market skeptics are often the loudest and some ideas are over before they get off the ground. One idea that has been steadily growing and gaining praise from doctors and patients who are trying the new method of healthcare delivery is concierge and boutique medicine. There are still many people who do not understand what this type of medicine is or what it means to them. The actual medical procedures and tests remain the same under concierge and boutique medicine; there is no change to the science used in treating and diagnosing patients.

The concept of concierge and boutique medicine is simply a reformed way of delivering care to patients and an alternative in some cases to the complicated insurance system currently used in the United States. The cost of doing business is making it very difficult for doctors to keep their office doors open. Offices that are successful under the current complex insurance system have to rely on patient volume to help fund their operation. Malpractice insurance and the amount of staff a doctor’s office must have just to handle insurance coding is driving up doctors business costs and resulting in less personal care for patients. Concierge and Boutique Medicine have similar principles but also have a few differences as well.

Those who praise this new way of looking at how health care should be provided, do so because these new plans offer doctors the option to spend more time communicating with patients and give patients the flexibility to see their doctors, even on short notice. This is ideal for many people who have packed schedules and unpredictable work hours. At a concierge practice, patient’s appointments are made further apart to ensure the doctor has plenty of time to address the concerns of every patient. Allowing for plenty of time during each appointment, means the doctors are almost always on schedule. This greatly decreases the chance that you will have to spend valuable time sitting in a waiting room. Also, when a doctor can limit the number of patients he or she has to see per day to keep their business up and running, they are able to keep track and remember each patient personally. This personal knowledge of patients means they do not have to rely only on charts when making decisions about your care.

Both concierge and boutique style offices provide more personal care than the average office under the current system. However, the difference between the two comes when you look at the level of personal service provided. Boutique medicine is like the VIP service of concierge medicine. Both systems offer more flexible scheduling but boutique practices often give their patients access to their doctor literally any time. Under this type of system your doctor makes him or herself available to you via cell phone or other communication even in the middle of the night and on weekends. House calls are also common with boutique medicine. Having your doctor come to you when you are sick is truly a luxury.

Visit AAPP for a practising concierge physician\’s viewpoint on the direction of private healthcare in the US.

Visit http://www.aapp.org/ for a practising concierge physician\’s viewpoint on the direction of private healthcare in the US. Also check out http://www.aapp.org/research/.

Author Bio: Visit AAPP for a practising concierge physician\’s viewpoint on the direction of private healthcare in the US.

Category: Medical Business
Keywords: Health, Doctor, Family, Treatment