Dollar Med

Over the years, I've heard occasionally about 'concierge medicine', also called 'retainer medicine'. Basically, you pay a fee to a doctor for the privilege of coming to them and paying for a visit. Frequently, there's no insurance company involvement. The doctors involved always say that they don't do this to make more money; they do it "to practice medicine the way they want". They intend that to mean "to give full and thoughtful care to people, without pencil-pushers peering over their shoulder".

When I was at the polls, one woman there told me that she went to a local doc who practices that kind of medicine, and she really likes it. She feels as if she gets attention, and the doctor is her partner. (This woman is a nurse, and her husband is a doctor, so she's pretty into the medical ethos.) I started thinking about whether it might make sense for us to do this. Still that lingering feeling about they just do it for the money - because, despite what they say, these docs almost always do make more money, while working less hours and having less stress, but still..... So I did a search for a local doc who does that, and I found an article done by our local PBS on that very subject. And this image of the doctor being interviewed leapt out at me.


Hmmm.......