Highlights from the 2024 Concierge Medicine Forum

The rapid ascent of concierge medicine from exclusive to mainstream represents one of health care’s most fundamental shifts in recent years, and nowhere was this more evident than at the industry’s annual signature event in Atlanta, Georgia, this fall. The 2024 Concierge Medicine Forum (CMF) welcomed record numbers of visionary leaders and practitioners drawn to a sector that continues to offer a demonstrably sustainable alternative in a broken health care system. Among them was Specialdocs Consultants, a pioneering concierge medicine consulting and management company, whose CEO and select group of physician clients were tapped to share their transformative stories and expert insights as featured speakers at CMF.

“As a proud participant at CMF from its earliest days, we’re thrilled to witness its thoughtful expansion over the last decade,” Terry Bauer, CEO of Specialdocs, said. “Always recognized as educational, innovative and influential, this conference is at the forefront of our ever-evolving sector and has unquestionably helped inspire its remarkable growth.”

The collective wisdom of veteran industry consultants and personal perspectives from leading concierge physicians provided attendees with a rarely seen snapshot of an industry often misunderstood and erroneously vilified. “We know concierge doctors may not be able to change the entire world of medicine, but they can change their patient’s world…and that matters,” CMF organizer Michael Tetreault said.

With more than two decades of experience in the membership medicine sector, Bauer offered attendees a compelling look at prospective physicians’ concerns regarding the model.

“Even the most prominent and beloved doctors can be apprehensive about success [and] worried that patients won’t understand why the change is essential to more personalized care or appreciate a practitioner’s need for a better work-life balance. We respect the mix of fear and guilt underlying these concerns,” he said.

Bauer continued, “But we have also listened to thousands of patients who are equally frustrated by a dysfunctional health care system notable for crowded urgent cares, packed emergency rooms and months long waits for rushed appointments at standard fee-for-service practices. Our physician clients accurately view membership in their concierge practice as a valuable investment for patients to make in their future health. And after a successful conversion, their concerns quickly evaporate, replaced by the real rewards of practicing in this model.”

Dr. Hector Cardenas, who converted his practice with Specialdocs in 2020, concurred: “Then, there was still somewhat of an elitist label around concierge medicine, but we’ve seen a growing understanding of how hard it is to provide quality care within strict time constraints.” Delighted at being able to offer much-desired changes, such as home visits, he said, “Can you imagine what it feels like to have time to pack an old-fashioned doctor’s bag and go to a patient’s house?”

Click here for more highlights from CMF, including:

• The joys and challenges of being “married to medicine.”
• The best time to convert.
• New pathways to concierge medicine.
• Making the leap from hospital employment to independence.
• An expanded role for primary care in cardiac disease prevention.
• The new emphasis on “inflammaging.”
• Spirituality in medicine.
• How to eliminate bias and profoundly connect with patients.

Mindy Kolof is the public relations strategist for Specialdocs Consultants, a pioneering company dedicated to transforming physicians’ professional lives since 2002 with a change to its industry-leading concierge medicine model.