Rise of ‘concierge medicine’ has benefits, drawbacks
November 26, 2024 – “Concierge medicine”—which offers patients enhanced primary care services for a yearly membership fee—is on the rise because it improves the experiences of both patients and providers, but it also has negative repercussions for the broader health system, according to experts.
Patients who pay high fees for concierge medicine gain quicker access to appointments, longer time spent with providers, and other benefits, according to a Nov. 15 Boston Globe article.
“If you look at it from the perspective of people who have high income, or relatively high income, $2,000 or $5,000 a year is something you’d spend on a vacation. So I’ve heard people say: ‘Why wouldn’t I spend that on my health?’” said Asaf Bitton, a primary care doctor, executive director of Ariadne Labs, and associate professor of health care policy in the Department of Health Policy and Management at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, in the article.
Bitton also noted that providers—especially experienced doctors—are switching to concierge practices because traditional primary care practices have high workloads for relatively low pay. However, the shift exacerbates the shortage of providers across the primary care system.
Read the Boston Globe article: Some patients are paying up to $50,000 per year in fees for ‘concierge medicine.’ Here’s what’s behind its rise.
– Jay Lau
Photo: iStock/andrei_r
