Marilen Cawad
07/01/2005
MD2 Founded in 1996 by Dr. Howard Maron in Seattle.
What it offers: Patients retain an MD2 physician in advance. The doctor limits his practice to a small, select group of individual patients and families. The physician manages the patients’ health and well-being and attends to their medical problems when they occur. Additional services include house calls, same-day service, 24/7 physician availability and access to a private and well-appointed doctor’s office that has no waiting room. MD2 does not bill insurance companies.
Number of patients per doctor: No more than 100 individuals or 50 families
Cost: $13,200 per year per person; $20,000 per couple
Office locations: Seattle, Bellevue, Wash., and Portland, Ore. (but house calls are made outside of these cities)
Website: www.md2.com
MDVIP Founded in 2000 by Dr. Robert Colton and Dr. Bernard Kaminetsky in Boca
Raton, Fla.
What it offers: The MDVIP model of retainer medicine is based
upon an annual fee for preventive care services that are not covered by
insurance, such as comprehensive physical exams and a resulting wellness plan.
Affiliated physicians also accept insurance reimbursement for covered
services.
Number of patients per doctor: No more than 600
individuals
Cost: $1,500 annually per person
Office locations: Alabama,
Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts,
Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and
Virginia
Website: www.mdvip.com
PINNACLE CARE Founded in 2002 by Bart Herbert, CEO; Bruce Spector,
chairman; John Hutchins, managing director; and Dr. Bill Amos, chief operating
officer.
What it offers: Patients pay a membership fee and a one-time
initiation fee for access to VIP service. Each member is assigned a patient
advocate, who is not a doctor but performs the job of a medical advisor. The
advocate collects the member’s medical records, tracks preventive care
appointments for the patient, locates the best doctors for routine and
specialized care, and coordinates all scheduling. Benefits vary depending on the
membership level. For example, a platinum membership includes house calls,
emergency air evacuation and 40 hours of private-duty nursing.
Number of
patients per doctor: 30 families per patient advocate
Cost: There are three
membership levels and pricing—Silver: $5,000 annual fee, $10,000 initiation fee;
Gold: $10,000 annual fee, $15,000 initiation fee; Platinum: $25,000 annual fee,
$30,000 initiation fee.
Office locations: Baltimore (headquarters), New York,
Chicago and Florida
Website: www.pinnaclecareinternational.com
SIMPD Founded in 2003 by Dr. John Blanchard in Grand Rapids, Mich.
What it
offers: The Society for Innovative Medical Practice Design, formerly known as
the American Society of Concierge Physicians, is an organization of doctors that
promotes a direct financial relationship with patients. Members include
concierge, retainer, retail and cash-pay physicians. This group’s website offers
a list of member physicians with their contact numbers and links to their
practices.
Number of patients per doctor: The number of patients varies
depending on an affiliated physician’s private practice.
Cost: Affiliated
physicians offer various payment schemes. Retainer fees range from $1,000 to
$5,000 annually per person. Some physicians work on a fee-for-service
basis.
Office locations: Affiliated physicians in Alabama, Arizona,
California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New
York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Washington
Website:
www.simpd.org
Back to Main Article: Concierge Medicine