The pandemic has exposed the weaknesses of the American healthcare system. Fortunately, concierge medicine is here to help alleviate some of the burdens.
Here are some updates on how concierge practices are responding to the pandemic:
1. Availability of Vaccine Doses
Vaccine availability has dramatically improved as Pfizer, Moderna, Oxford-AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson were able to get Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Administration and have since ramped up their production lines.
Availability - But generally, vaccine doses are still kept under the Federal Government's Department of Health and Human Services watchful eye. Private medical practices such as Concierge and Direct Primary Care facilities can only request vaccine doses for qualified patients.
Growing Demand - However, the demand for the vaccine among members of concierge practices is currently still at a fever pitch. Some patients even offer concierge doctors copious amounts of money to procure a vaccine for them even if they're not qualified for the vaccine yet.
Side Effects - Allergic reactions can happen to any new medication or vaccine. However, serious life-threatening allergic reactions have been minimal, and immediate anaphylactic reactions are often easily treated within the vaccination facility.
Currently, concierge medicine practitioners are limited to assessing their patient's eligibility and qualifications for the vaccine and providing them with advice on what kind of vaccines are safe for them to use. However, once the vaccines are available for commercial use, concierge doctors will likely be the first in line in procurement for private use.
2. Efficient Procurement of Test Kits
Testing is still a crucial part of the overall pandemic response, and concierge medicine is perhaps one of the most efficient ways to procure a COVID-19 test for private individuals.
One of the biggest benefits of concierge medicine is that healthcare professionals are available for house calls 24/7. This gives members access to medical experts without having to leave their homes.
Since COVID-19 test kits are no longer rationed as they were in the pandemic's early days, concierge practices can procure them freely now. This means members can order test kits at the comfort of their homes whenever they need them.
This ability to procure tests quickly and efficiently is a huge benefit for members as the United States gradually reopens the economy. During this time, high-density venues such as schools and some malls require either proof of vaccination or recent COVID test results before granting entry.
In some cases, health care professionals don't even need to physically get samples from patients. There are COVID test kits developed specifically to be self-administered, which can be sent into the lab via mail.
The results of tests conducted via concierge medical practices are often much faster than that of traditional institutions, as the patient panel is much smaller. Usually, a 12-hour turnaround time can be expected from concierge practices instead of the US national average of 3 days.
3. Pioneering Telemedicine
In the early days of the pandemic, people struggled to book an appointment with their primary care physicians. From the state-mandated lockdowns to fears of contracting COVID in a confined waiting room, people just stopped coming in for non-COVID-related illnesses.
Members of concierge medical practices, on the other hand, were still able to consult with their physicians despite the lockdowns via online consultation services, over the phone, or even through emails. This high availability helped immensely in keeping patients healthy throughout the crucial lockdown periods.
As a pioneer in telemedicine, concierge practitioners quickly improved patient experience either by upgrading the technologies used or by optimizing the consultation process. Some concierge practices have even developed their mobile applications to improve their patient experience or strengthen the privacy and security protocols.
4. Home Care Support and Packages for Members with COVID-19
Another crucial benefit of concierge medicine that provide to its members was a customized COVID-19 home care package for people with mild to medium symptoms. This means people with COVID can get the care they need without taking resources from already stretched-out hospitals.
Even with proper care, there is no way to tell whether the disease will worsen or taper off. Because of these uncertainties, the 24/7 availability of healthcare professionals is such a huge benefit for members of concierge medical practices. This allows them to have some peace of mind helping them focus on recovery instead of worrying.
In some cases, concierge practices are even able to set up mobile medical equipment in a patient's home, recording relevant medical data throughout the day while monitoring it 24/7. This way, COVID positive concierge members can keep a clear head even if they are isolated at home.
So FindMyDirectDoctor.com, a website that advocates membership-based models such as Concierge Medicine and DPC, seems to help settle the real score.
