During a featured session at Becker’s Hospital Review 15th Annual Meeting, leaders from Concierge Choice Physicians and Mission Heritage Medical Group discussed how a hybrid concierge care model is creating new revenue streams, improving physician retention and addressing burnout without disrupting traditional practice operations.
The speakers — Wayne Lipton, founder and managing partner of Concierge Choice Physicians, and Chad Wadell, MD, board member and practicing internist with Mission Viejo, Calif.-based Mission Heritage Medical Group — outlined how blending membership-based medicine into existing practices offers the possibility for greater revenue, improved recruitment and longer-lasting physician satisfaction.
Four takeaways from the session:
Note: Quotes have been edited for length and clarity.
1. Hybrid concierge care provides recurring revenue without excluding patients
Full concierge models often require physicians to transition entirely to a subscription-based model and reduce a large share of their patient panels. A hybrid model, however, allows physicians to serve a limited number of their patients under membership models while continuing to serve other patients under non-membership models. This allows practices to continue to serve a wide number of patients while also boosting margins with annual membership fees.
“From a revenue standpoint, this is a strategy that makes a lot of sense,” Mr. Lipton.
Dr. Wadell, who helped spearhead a hybrid concierge model at Mission Heritage, said that his group early on made it a point to keep serving their existing patients. “It was very important to our [pilot] group physicians that we kept our panels,” he said.
2. Patients are willing to pay for relationship-based care
The concierge fee — typically around $2,500 annually, according to Mr. Lipton — often covers otherwise non-covered services and conveniences such as longer visits, 24/7 availability and unhurried care. Patients appreciate the personalized experience, and physicians appreciate the autonomy.
Dr. Waddell shared: “The patients that sign up for this program are very respectful. Physicians get a good connection with them, and they don’t call for services after hours unless it’s an emergency.”
3. The model strengthens recruitment and retention
Burnout and staffing shortages continue to strain health systems. Offering physicians a pathway to greater autonomy and supplemental income helps with both recruiting new candidates and retaining seasoned clinicians.
“We’ve been able to help some senior doctors go into these kinds of programs and enable them to slow down the pace a little bit,” said Mr. Lipton. “If they’re not burnt out, they can continue to do what they love to do.”
4. Implementation is scalable, with little to no upfront cost
Concierge Choice Physicians handles program design, onboarding, marketing, billing and ongoing support.
And because the revenue is non-insurance-based, it is shielded from reimbursement volatility and payer denials — making it especially attractive in today’s uncertain financial environment.
“In concierge care, [providers] set the price,” Mr. Lipton said.
