"The time is now, when private medical practice
physicians will need to know this method of
medical practice, because the wealthiest physicians
understand that this method for medical practice
is the only one that provides time enough for
thorough medical practice management as well as
medical practice marketing using several marketing
strategies at the same time."
THE CRITICAL ENEMY YOU FACE...
Are you at all knowledgeable about or have recognized the rapidity at which our government and congress has taken almost full control of our healthcare? If you are in any form of private or independent medical practice, have you determined what you will do about the government plans to remove all forms of private medical practice?
The government's increase of mandates, fee restrictions, and private practice procedural requirements is how our democratic liberals have for over five decades planned to gain control of healthcare and have almost succeeded. Our medical schools have provided the government politicians the perfect weakness in our profession to enable the full takeover of healthcare.
Terminating private practice is easy when physicians are business ignorant, as over 95% are. Medical schools don't provide or offer a business education--never have for a century--and never plan to--
at least not yet, with rare exceptions.
This is what enables the government to compromise the incomes of physicians so severely by mandates and fee restrictions that hundreds of physicians are losing their private medical practices every year in our nation. What do they do when that happens?
If they want to continue to practice medicine, the usual route to do that is to become an employee at one of the government run mandated medical care facilities. Over 50% of new physicians/medical students apply for those positions today, usually because of facing their huge educational
debt (Avg. $165,000).
The government politicians 5-year plan...
Before they can totally control our healthcare, they first have to eliminate private medical practice. When they accomplish that, the next step is to fully control all aspects of the medical
profession--YOU!
Private practice physicians actually have a perfect method to not only stay in private medical practice but also to increase their incomes a well. Concierge, cash only, practice is remarkably adaptable way to maintain good income and avoid the government takeover of private medical practice, at least for several more years.
Our resistance to change of medical business management strategies isn’t the only problem. But, it may be the biggest one. You’ll have to admit escaping the sharp edge of the government sword is a tribulation of serious consequence for your family, your career, and your expectations in life.
It’s clearly evident that sooner or later every physician in the private practice of medicine in this country will find themselves cornered by governmental fee restrictions, increasing medical practice rules and regulations, personal lack of fulfillment, demoralizing financial constipation,
among others.
We have been the victims or the government plan for the past 6 decades and most of us have been slowly and quietly tolerating the political agenda for total control of healthcare in our nation. You should be aware that the increasing numbers of restrictions being forced on private medical practice physicians is a major part of the plan. That becomes evident because the government can't totally control healthcare until they eliminate private medical practice.
What is worse, is that as soon as our government gains control of healthcare completely, it will move towards the total control of the medical profession, in all its aspects. The beginning of that plan can be recognized as soon as you recognize how many of the 174 certified medical schools in the USA are funded directly or indirectly by our government already. That kind of control is bound to enable the takeover of the whole medical profession by our government.
For most physicians and other health care providers who prefer to remain in control of their own medical business management of their objectives, their goal worksheet will require new innovation strategies for their medical practice businesses.
The need for a medical small business focus, even a life career change which offers you a satisfactory path towards your ambitions in life, is part of an overall implementation of a unique medical practice business development strategy outside of permanent governmental control.
Could that be… oh no!!… don’t say it!!… concierge practice (also called boutique, cash only, or
retainer practice)?
| Definition: A private medical practice in which a physician(s) intentionally devotes much greater time to each individual patient’s care and needs, is able to provide a patient with a higher quality of healthcare and service which extended time with the patient allows, and a medical care provided with patient convenience and optimum health in mind (for families as well). |
Now, I did it! I exposed your mind to a rag-tag fringe of medical practice heros that are expanding in opposition to government threats. You must agree that numerous physicians consider boutique medical practice a last resort, a modification of a career path way too extreme to consider, and is frequently thought of as a losing game. Increasing reports of successful concierge practices pop-up occasionally in the media, usually in the primary care physician’s turf and professional literature.
Concierge Medicine is also known as direct care, membership medicine, boutique medicine, retainer-based medicine, concierge health care, cash only practice, direct primary care, and
direct practice medicine.
The fact that concierge practice has so many name labels brings this "infrequently-subscribed-to" method of medical practice into the medical arena dominated by the professional medical hierarchy who by their empowerment are able to neglect, squelch, brow-beat, and disregard this method
of private medical practice.
They do this, not because concierge physicians aren’t highly qualified and trained medical doctors who abide by every professional standard, but because of the medical practice business systems entrenched in concierge practices. What is it about medical practice business methods that they dislike?
Is it illegal or unethical in the real business world to ask for cash for services? Is medical practice in fact a recognized small business entity, survives only because of business principles, and allows a vendor in any business to charge what their services are worth in their own view? As a business, medical practice is permitted by our government to take on a legal business structure approved
by the government.
A physician has the business advantage of using incorporation, LLC, partnership or other business components. Our government supports concierge practice, at least the business side of
private/independent medical practice businesses.
As an indication of the distaste (maybe there’s a better word) organized medicine leadership appears to have for concierge medical practice is quite obvious.
The AMA, American Medical Association, which for years has kept contemporaneous records of professional medical services and physician activity, has yet to see fit to recognize concierge medicine as worthy of record-keeping, and, by doing so avoids legitimizing that practice method in the eyes of everyone--I have found no evidence that this has changed.
The media also dwells on the negative side of concierge practice by articles focusing on how so many concierge physicians' practices fail... financially. What does your own specialty college tell you about concierge medicine? If they can connect it to some ethical issue, they’ll bring that to your attention, otherwise, they are usually silent.
Now that we have a socialized mandate for medical practice in law, one would think that the options physicians have for private medical practice business survival in this environment is logically towards the establishment of concierge medical practices.
The only practical alternative to concierge practice is for private physicians to become extensively involved in establishing a business system in their practices comparable to other successful businesses (unfortunately, most physicians today do not know what business systems are).
Beyond that, physicians will be forced to learn and implement effective physician marketing strategies for their medical practice business success and financial survival. Can you visualize your future in medicine?
These facts and statistics may improve your concierge practice outlook...
A truly entrepreneurial physician mindset to achieve goals is already branded into your brain and personality... otherwise you wouldn’t be a physician or reading this today. Think about it. Were you already taking a risk when you thought you could get into medical school? There... you just stepped outside of your comfort zone.
Anyone who has a creative mind open to possibilities can visualize future pictures of them self as a success and is willing to work outside their own comfort zone, is a true entrepreneur. In that special environment you will be amazed at what your brain can do for you at light-speed.
Under the keyword “concierge medical practice” Google search spits out 726,000 or so references, so there must be a bit of interest about the topic.
VIP/Concierge Medical Practice, a prominent teaching and training organization for concierge health care professionals, reports that there were over 800 concierge medical practices in the USA in 2014 and they expect that number to rise significantly in view of the increasing numbers of patients frustrated and disappointed with the delivery of medical care as it is presently. And they are booming today.
And, patient frustrations are not just with the private practice doctors, but also the HMO’s, PPO’s and other managed care organizations.
According to the Society for Innovative Medical Practice Design, a professional society of concierge physicians, there were over 5,000 doctors in concierge practices in 2005 (total number of physicians in U.S. well over a million in 2021).
Accumulated data confirm many concierge medical practices are composed of just 300 patients, charged an annual encompassing fee of $1,800 per year equates to a practice gross income of $540,000. Not bad for starters… you think?
Compare that with AMA statistics indicating the average solo primary care general practitioner physician in the United States averages out to about $80,000 to $100,000 net annually. Interestingly, that's about the same salary that a fast food restaurant manager makes with a high
school education.
Sure, the net income a physician takes home depends on a hundred “this’s” and “that’s.” The point is that there are practice choices open for serious consideration you may not have ever truly thought of or considered worthy of your attention. You can find many of these ideas
on this website.
Doctors Busch, Flier, and Cortiss report that 98% of concierge subscribed patients in their 900 patient medical practice renew annually. It’s a measure of “patient wants” from physicians and of their loyalty to that method of practice.
Traditional medical practices usually claim a practice load of 2,500 to 4,000 patients. The usual successful concierge practices run well with 500 or less patients. Just imagine having the time to spend an hour with each patient and appointment.
Something you’d love to do? You would have the time to strut your “stuff,” and pile on your expertise if necessary, within limits of course. This is the perfect scenario for doing some referral marketing that I have mentioned in previous articles... recruit a patient “promoter” for free.
Since your own medical practice business volume will keep dwindling over time, it will become necessary for every entrepreneurial physician who cares to continue growing their private practice, to increase or maintain practice income using medical practice marketing and effective medical business management.
These will become an absolute necessity just to maintain their present practice volume, let alone increase their patient load... and income. Do you really believe you can avoid that probability?
I don’t.
Some concierge private medical practice models that might be exactly perfect for you are...
Some of the most practical models to choose from...
- Hybrid Model—blending of concierge with your present practice
- Innovation Model—start from scratch
- Transformation Model—convert present practice completely to concierge practice
- Private Group Model—concierge practice in a group practice model
- Commercial Model—concierge practice partnered with business, industry, or
other supportive groups.
Although concierge medical practices share some common similarities, they vary significantly in structure, payment requirements, and operational systems, among others.
All claim they offer 24/7 coverage either by cell phone or email, provide complete in office healthcare services, meet the quality standards of medical care provided throughout the medical profession, have few limitations to healthcare coverage and services, are compatible with any and most health insurance programs in the U.S., and have extended time with physicians.
Differences include...
- Some practices do not accept any health insurance of any kind (cash only and direct primary care). It’s done primarily to reduce overhead and administrative costs and more affordable health care.
- “Concierge practice” is one that assesses annual or monthly fee plans instead of, or in addition to, the fee for each medical interaction. The annual fee should not be construed to be a substitute for medical insurance and does not cover outside consultations, lab procedures, medicines, hospitalizations, or emergency care.
- Some concierge practices which accept health insurance plans also accept Medicare, but ask for fees to cover additional services provided under the insurance coverage.
- Some medical insurance companies refuse to provide patient coverage if they are treated by an annual fee-based concierge practice. Some do, with restrictions.
- Some concierge practices provide extra medical services such as detailed research into a patient’s medical problem or permit some patients to join free or at a discount when they are under distressed financial situations, among others.
(To be continued in Part 2—Details about the various methods of concierge medical practice and requirements for establishing a medical practice of this sort)
----Professional Probe----
"The speed of medical patient care
in socialized medicine..."
It is also the speed-of-care in private medical practice today when you consider that a majority of private physicians have to see up to, or over 60 medical patients daily, just to make enough income to pay for the overhead for the medical office.
That slowness in their time spent with their doctor that patients experience results in less time with medical patients, less time to instruct patients, less time to answer all the medical questions that patients ask, more medical mistakes by doctors, increased doctor frustrating at being forced into these circumstances to survive financially, eventual doctor burnout by over work, less income, expectations for careers lessened, fear of socialized medicine and government takeover
of healthcare completely.
Ultimately, the quality of medical care decreases.
Articles © 2013-2022/CGG INVESTMENTS LLC. All rights reserved. #11 3-16-22
