Academic Medicine and Concierge Practice
Authors: Martin Donohoe
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2016)

Letters6 September 2016Academic Medicine and Concierge PracticeMartin Donohoe, MDMartin Donohoe, MDFrom Portland State University, Portland, Oregon.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/L16-0103 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Doherty (1) neglects to mention that many luxury care clinics are sponsored by academic medical centers. Some partner with national concierge care companies. Marketing for such clinics is directed at the heads of successful small and large companies, who are disproportionately white men. Many physicians who staff luxury care clinics limit their practices to the wealthy (2, 3). Physicians in retainer practices care for fewer African Americans, Hispanics, and Medicaid patients than those in other types of practices; moreover, physicians who switch to a retainer practice keep an average of only 12% of their former patients, thus ...References1. Doherty R; Medical Practice and Quality Committee of the American College of Physicians. Assessing the patient care implications of “concierge” and other direct patient contracting practices: a policy position paper from the American College of Physicians. Ann Intern Med. 2015;163:949-52. [PMID: 26551655]. doi:10.7326/M15-0366 LinkGoogle Scholar2. Donohoe M. Luxury primary care, academic medical centers, and the erosion of science and professional ethics. J Gen Intern Med. 2004;19:90-4. [PMID: 14748866] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Donohoe MT. Standard vs. luxury care. In: Buetow S, Kenealy T, eds. Ideological Debates in Family Medicine. New York: Nova Science Pub; 2007. Google Scholar4. Alexander GC, Kurlander J, Wynia MK. Physicians in retainer (“concierge”) practice. A national survey of physician, patient, and practice characteristics. J Gen Intern Med. 2005;20:1079-83. [PMID: 16423094] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Wolfe SM. The destruction of medicine by market forces: teaching acquiescence or resistance and change? Acad Med. 2002;77:5-7. [PMID: 11788316] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From Portland State University, Portland, Oregon.Disclosures: Authors have disclosed no conflicts of interest. Forms can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=L16-0103. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoAssessing the Patient Care Implications of “Concierge” and Other Direct Patient Contracting Practices: A Policy Position Paper From the American College of Physicians Robert Doherty and Academic Medicine and Concierge Practice Robert Doherty Metrics Cited byIntroducing new transfusion technology: the ethics of tiered transfusion safety 6 September 2016Volume 165, Issue 5Page: 375KeywordsAcademic medicineAnxietyConflicts of interestDisclosureEvidence based medicineForecastingHealth careHispanic peopleTaxes ePublished: 6 September 2016 Issue Published: 6 September 2016 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2016 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...