Bill of health: more patients turn to doctors on retainer.

• Author: Campbell, Carolyn
• Position: Focus

Back in the good old days, the family doctor could be reached anytime, day or night, and often visited sick patients in their own homes. Well, those days are long gone, as we all know. A trip to the doctor now involves an often hard-to-get appointment, a long stop in the waiting room, insurance forms, co-payments--all for a quick 10-minute consultation.

The situation is frustrating for all parties, and some doctors are cutting ties with insurance companies and slashing their patient loads in an effort to recreate the "good old days" of medicine. It's a movement called retainer-based medicine--or concierge medicine--and more doctors, and their patients, are opting in.

Private Practice

Dr. Wes Wylie practices in Provo and is affiliated with ModernMed, Inc., a national retainer-based medicine company. Wylie's patients pay a monthly fee and in return receive quick appointments with no waiting time, access to the doctor's cell phone and email address, and even home visits on occasion.

Dennis Chambon, a patient of Wylie, says he can usually reach the doctor by phone in five minutes. "It isn't his assistant who answers. I always talk to the doctor," says Chambon, who owns Vertec Tools, Inc. Chambon, a patient for two years now, has phoned Wylie about two dozen times. When he arrives for an appointment, there is no waiting time.

"While my ModernMed membership is an extra expense that some people would consider a luxury, I wanted to have ready access to the best doctor, and I feel I've accomplished that," says Chambon "My confidence in him is the greatest thing, and my insurance pays for everything he prescribes."

Dr. Jami Doucette, CEO of ModernMed, explains that within the retainer-based medicine concept, patients have a more direct financial relationship with their physicians than they do within the regular insurance model. Patients pay a monthly, quarterly or annual fee for services the physician provides.

At ModernMed, Doucette says that a patient pays about $125 per month to subscribe. "It's about $4.19 a day--less than a cable bill and about the same price as drinking Starbucks coffee regularly. We feel it is affordable for almost everybody who cares about their health and well-being."

In return for the payment, patients receive "24/7 access to their physician's cell phone and email, same day/next day appointment guarantees and no waiting in the waiting room. Many such practices don't even need to have a waiting room," says Doucette...