Elizabeth Ortiz, MD, knew she needed a change. Working at an academic county clinic, she was often worn down and pulled in different directions. “When I thought about what I really liked about my job, it was patient care and spending time with my patients, which I wasn’t able to do,” Dr. Ortiz said during the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology.
Dr. Elizabeth Ortiz
She’d heard of direct or concierge care but wasn’t sure if it was a good fit for her. COVID-19 offered a catalyst of sorts for a move to a new care model.
Ten weeks after she moved to Dallas, the pandemic hit full force. Seeing how telehealth was taking off, Dr. Ortiz began crafting a new model of care, a hybrid of telemedicine and house calls that offered multiple venues to connect with patients. The practice is just a year old, and “it’s working and it’s a constant experiment,” said Dr. Ortiz, who offers membership plans and prepaid appointments. She also does “a la carte” visits where established patients can see her at a one-off price. Her goal is to achieve 100% membership.
Although she operates through a direct pay and cash-only model, only recently has she become comfortable with the word “concierge.” There’s a preconceived notion of what that word means, she said.
Direct care: A definition
Following the trend of some primary care practices, more rheumatologists who are dissatisfied with the status quo are embracing these models of care.
Dr. Diana Girnita
Direct and concierge care are often mentioned in tandem, but there are nuanced differences. Direct specialty care removes third-party payers to protect the best interests of patients, according to Diana Girnita, MD, founder and CEO of Rheumatologist OnCall, a direct care practice. Her patient base hails from rural and urban areas in least 10 states. She also created a Facebook group for specialists in direct care and is the cofounder of the Direct Specialty Care Alliance.
Direct care offers a membership fee and additional fees for “as needed” services. “As the physician, I do not have to be contracted to an insurance company to see patients. I contract directly with patients. It is the patient’s choice to contract with an insurance and use the insurance for ancillary services and medication,” Dr. Girnita said. Patients with out-of-network benefits can claim the insurance to cover part of the consultation cost, she added.
In concierge or retainer medicine, a patient pays an annual or monthly fee or retainer to get access to the physician practice. In addition to this fee, the practice can bill the patient’s insurance for consultations or other services. “The concierge model does not eliminate the sub payer. You still contract with the patient’s insurance,” explained Dr. Girnita.
Physicians who establish these models sometimes do a hybrid of cash only and insurance. Micah Yu, MD, who practices rheumatology in Newport Beach, Calif., only takes Medicare. “Otherwise, patients are private pay. I am mainly fee for service, so patients are paying me for my time,” he said.
By tailoring their patient base and services, adopters find they have more time to spend with patients. “In my model, I spend 30 minutes for follow-up and 1 hour for new patients,” Dr. Yu said.