What is the deal with the concierge medical care concept out here?

Submitted by smtcpa1 t3_114v6sh in rva

I moved from Colorado two summers ago. It was a royal pain finding a primary care doctor then. It seemed there were not a lot of choices and many were in the concierge program. I found one. He was just ok, but it worked, Well, now he announced in November (yeah, just hearing about it now - goes to show the issues I had with them in the first place) that he has moved to concierge care at $150/month, just for the privilege of seeing him.

Is this a thing here? And is it becoming the only game in town? I had much better care out in CO and my family in IL and CT say they've never heard of it. I'm in Short Pump, I have Anthem as my insurance provider so if anyone has suggestions for a PCP, I'm open.

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Crazy4Rabies t1_j8y9l0h wrote

Just my two cents as someone who's used one:

I moved here without a PCP and had ended up with a condition that isn't very widely known and basically results in pretty severe episodes that put me in the ER twice. There are some medications thought to treat it but of course the ER couldn't really prescribe me anything, they said I needed to go through a PCP or urgent care. I could not find a damn PCP taking new patients and my insurance for damn months and was so desperate to get relief. I went to get a prescription from urgent care after waiting for 3 hours and the DR told me about a concierge service he knew of.

I was desperate so I signed up, it is $60 a month and they could see me within the week. It has been the most comprehensive care I've ever gotten from a doctor. They said insurance limits how long a covered visit can be to 15 minutes, whereas here I didn't wait at all, spent 45 minutes just talking out concerns, and can make an appointment in person or virtual within a week whenever I want. I've had two flare ups since then and I can message my doctor and she'll have my prescription to my pharmacy within the day and listened to me when things weren't working and offered a handful of alternatives. They also act as a gyno and have done lab work for me.

The service is called Eudoc. Is it fucked up I have had to pay even more to get timely and thorough care? Absolutely. I don't think this is an equitable system and wish I didn't have to deal with it all. But as someone with a unpredictable medical condition it's been incredibly worth it to me. Also looking at their website it looks like the monthly fee is going to go up to $100 a month when I turn 27. Unfortunate, but when I considered cancelling it before my conditioned flared up that week so I'll probably still keep them around.

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GrandmaPoses t1_j8zapz1 wrote

Concierge doctors are, for me, a way to get care the way I had always assumed medical care should be. That is, a doctor who cares, who can spend an appropriate amount of time with you, and can see you when you’re having an issue. It’s unfortunate that standard practices fail in one or more of those things, but that’s the state of care in them at least as I’ve experienced it.

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rattylight t1_j8y0whg wrote

I've never heard of concierge programs, so can't comment on that. But I do recommend the primary care physicians at Reynolds Primary Care (part of the VA Physicians Inc system). I also have Anthem.

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AgreeableRaspberry85 t1_j8zlwik wrote

That’s who I use. They can see me same day as I’m an established patient there.

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ananthropolothology t1_j93w7qc wrote

Thirding. I think all of the doctors have walk-in spots throughout their day so you're able to be seen quickly if needed.

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STREAMOFCONSCIOUSN3S t1_j8ybxg2 wrote

The best primary doctor I've ever had moved to a concierge practice. It's sad but it makes sense, insurance alone just won't reimburse enough for a doctor who actually wants to spend time with their patients. Even in some places with socialized healthcare you will have different tiers of care, because it just makes sense. People with money are willing to pay for above-average service in healthcare the same way they are willing to pay more with other services.

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smtcpa1 OP t1_j8ys1z9 wrote

Agree. I just want to get back to average service. I'd be happy with that right about now.

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jeb_hoge t1_j8ycp53 wrote

Same here, and I wish I could have followed him, but the doc I have now is great too so it's not the end of the world. But the doc in between those two was absolutely miserable to deal with. She ended up just quitting and leaving something like 150 case files open in the practice.

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thedamnoftinkers t1_j95fqkf wrote

The rich do have better healthcare- but as an ex-RVAer now living in Australia with socialised healthcare, socialised healthcare really evens it out.

This concierge shit is bullshit. Your insurances are letting you, and the doctors, down bigtime. So much money being wasted just for very standard healthcare. A lot of people in OP's situation would stop seeing a PCP & just go to a doctor when they're really sick. (which is a terrible choice because an ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure.)

Socialised healthcare makes everyone's lives easier.

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AdAlternative5545 t1_j8yjg3r wrote

Other side of town, but my husband and I are at Midlothian Medical Care and are very happy with our doctors there. It’s a normal practice, not concierge. We are able to be seen quickly when sick and they have the normal wait for annual well visits, when they run labs, etc. They often spend more than 15 minutes with us. I’ve had some very special medical circumstances that required longer visits, for sure.

The biggest issue I see is that most people who are insured do not go in for an annual well visit. They may not even seek out a dr until they are sick and need someone to see them urgently. Doctors taking new patients want to establish a relationship with their patients and get a baseline so it’s not unusual to wait months for that initial visit with one of the better ones. Patients act like the doctors are transactional but the patients are just as bad! “Why can’t I get a same day appointment with a doctor I’ve never seen before? I just want a prescription!” Whenever you move to a new city, pick a doctor, go for a well visit, get your labs done and show up at least annually. This kind of preventative care lowers medical costs for everyone in the long run!

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AidCookKnow t1_j8ymuzl wrote

Maybe everyone already knows this, but I recently learned that Patient First does primary care. Your insurance has to cover them for primary care, not just urgent care, but mine does... I think I may do that.

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gravy_boot t1_j8z0m29 wrote

I used them for awhile for the convenience factor; and my experience was sometimes good, usually fine, and miserable often enough that I switched after a year and a half or so.

Though competent and usually friendly, the docs seemed spread very thin and often completely exhausted. Very long waits and never had the same doc twice. Much higher degree of suspicion around prescription needs but comes with the territory I guess, was mildly annoying but not a huge problem.

Other than general stuff the only real issue I had was, when trying to get approval for a necessary surgery, one of their docs wouldn’t accept my previous (non-local) doctor’s assessment and test results on record, and demanded that I visit another specialist so she’d avoid any liability in signing off that I could be under anesthesia. She implied I might be lying about the reasoning behind their assessment but wouldn’t make a phone call to verify. Just made it a big hassle for me at a really bad time, though perhaps because she was used to being misled by other patients.

In all it’s not terrible and can be pretty convenient, and the people are fine but don’t expect personalized care or an easy time with specialized needs.

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smtcpa1 OP t1_j8ysdh1 wrote

>Patient First

I did not know that. Thanks for the tip.

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opienandm t1_j8y1yjn wrote

I think it’s awful in so many ways.

To get a reasonable of level care, you have to pay more. It allows doctors to load up the patient list, then see who is willing to pay to get to the front of the line.

To be honest, it’s just another way for the practices to pull money out of people rather than focusing on providing a standard of care according to who needs it most and not differentiating for those who can afford to pay more.

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Tgambilax t1_j91x7ul wrote

As someone who’s had some pretty restricting chest pain the past few days and a “PCP” who really couldn’t give half a fuck if I keeled over and died tomorrow, I’m fed up. Had nothing but bad experiences trying to find a Dr. around North Chesterfield who actually cares, can see me within 3 months of calling with a problem, and also provide the needed care.

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rabbiferret t1_j92aesr wrote

A coworker just reported the same concierge conversation you're mentioning. She was really put-out and frankly can't afford another $1800/yr on top of insurance premiums.

She asked her doctor about it and he said that he's short staffed and overwhelmed by patients. He claimed the concierge model would allow him to spend more time with patients but didn't specify how that would affect patient insurance coverage, final costs, etc.

I think it's a shitty business decision, and indicative of a failed healthcare model. The gap between people who can afford healthcare is widening and that's terrifying.

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Federal-Subject-3541 t1_j8zt7y2 wrote

I've had a good experience with Grove Avenue primary care physicians

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PilgrimRadio t1_j91yv5b wrote

Following this thread because I'm new to town and waiting for my first appointment (in about a month). The best doctor I ever had (in my previous town) went to Concierge Care and I lost him as a result. I didn't wanna pay the extra $2 grand a year (on top of insurance). I'm going to see how my visit goes in a month and from there I'll decide if I wanna explore Concierge. Anyone have any experience being on Medicaid here? When I went through the marketplace, I was put on Medicaid. I think it's because I'm not working. They asked what my expected income was for 2023, and it ain't much, because I'm sitting on money and don't need to work right now. I can afford medical care......I just don't have a job. I'm hoping that my care doesn't suffer because they put me on Medicaid. If I don't like it or think I'm getting substandard care then I'll just go the Concierge route or go back to the city I came from maybe. Anyway, I'd love to hear about anyone's experience being on Anthem Healthkeepers Plus Virginia medicaid, and if they get a level of care that's acceptable.

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toller_kate t1_j8y2tz7 wrote

Can confirm concierge medicine is ruining healthcare, also Reynolds primary care is great.

Edit: for all the posts on this sub about long wait times and hard to find a PCP, this is why. A lot of good docs have drastically cut their patient population down to around, maybe 1600 patients, and good luck to the rest. A lack of providers is a real problem right now, and sorry, but concierge isn't helping.

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solostinlost t1_j8ygpqs wrote

I don’t think concierge medicine is ruining healthcare. I think it exists as a result of our healthcare system already failing.

I’m currently trying to get seen by a doctor for some pain/discomfort without paying thousands of dollars for an ER visit (even with insurance). My old PCP dropped me after 3 years of inactivity, urgent care doesn’t really have the resources for what I currently need, and new patient PCP appts aren’t available for weeks. In my search for care options, this concierge model keeps coming up and sounds like the best option. Idk just my two cents as somebody currently frustrated with our healthcare system. I’ve been having issues for almost 2 weeks and wouldn’t be able to get in with traditional primary care til the end of the month.

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Cerebraleffusion t1_j93f0dj wrote

Concierge medical care is a natural progression of the capitalist death cult we all know, worship, and love.

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