By Joseph Sharp, MD and Talley Sharp, MD — Sharp Health MD, Naples
Concierge medicine is a model of primary care built to restore what traditional practice has largely lost: the ability to choose your own physician, and the time, access and continuity that good medical care requires.
What medicine has lost
Most patients don’t realize how much the conventional system has changed. They often see whichever provider happens to be available that day, whether that is their doctor, another doctor or a nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant. Appointments are frequently limited to ten or fifteen minutes. When something urgent comes up after hours, they reach an automated phone line, get sent to the emergency room, or are told to wait until the next business day.
The result is care that is mostly reactive rather than proactive. It limits the time physicians can spend with patients and how well they can get to know them, and those limits affect outcomes.
How the model works
In a concierge practice, patients pay an annual membership fee directly to the practice. That fee lets the physician care for far fewer patients, often around 200 instead of the 1500+ more common in a traditional practice. The fee pays for time, access and services that insurance doesn’t typically cover. Most concierge patients keep their health insurance for labs, imaging, specialists and hospital care.
Practices vary, but concierge care usually includes:
. Longer, unhurried visits, with same-day or next-day appointments
. Direct access to your physician, often including a personal cell phone number, evenings, weekends and while traveling
. Comprehensive annual exams that go well beyond a standard physical
. Care coordination, where your physician helps arrange specialist referrals and follows up with them
Doctors as teachers
The model also restores the physician’s role as an educator. The word doctor comes from the Latin docere, “to teach.” A physician’s original job was not only to diagnose and prescribe but also to help patients understand how to protect and improve their own health.
A fifteen-minute visit barely covers the problem in front of you. It leaves no room to go through your cardiovascular risk, what your lab results actually mean, or the habits that will shape the next twenty years of your health. Concierge medicine gives physicians and patients that time back.
Access when it matters
Illness doesn’t keep a Monday-through-Friday schedule. A concern that comes up on a Saturday evening, a holiday weekend or during a trip can often be handled with a direct call to a physician who already knows your history. That can mean faster answers, fewer unnecessary ER visits, and more peace of mind. Access combined with time is what makes a higher standard of care possible.
Who benefits most?
Concierge medicine isn’t for everyone, but it tends to fit certain patients well:
. People managing chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease or anyone on multiple medications, who benefit from close follow-up and coordinated care
. Those focused on prevention and longevity who want an in-depth look at their risk factors and a long-term plan, not just a yearly checkup
. Busy professionals and frequent travelers who value prompt appointments and being able to reach their doctor from anywhere
. Adult children coordinating care for aging parents, who need a physician who is reachable and engaged
. Anyone who wants a real relationship with their doctor, where their physician knows them well
Questions to ask before joining
If you’re considering concierge care, ask what the membership includes and what it doesn’t. Ask how many patients the physician cares for, and how after-hours access works in practice. Ask whether the practice bills your insurance for covered services, and how it coordinates with specialists and hospitals.
At its best, concierge medicine is less a luxury than a return to how primary care was meant to work: a trusted physician who has the time to listen, teach and be there when you need them.
Joseph Sharp, MD, and Talley Sharp, MD, are board-certified physicians and co-founders of Sharp Health MD, a concierge primary care practice in Naples focused on prevention and longevity.
Questions to ask before joining
If you’re considering concierge care, ask what the membership includes and what it doesn’t. Ask how many patients the physician cares for, and how after-hours access works in practice. Ask whether the practice bills your insurance for covered services, and how it coordinates with specialists and hospitals.
At its best, concierge medicine is less a luxury than a return to how primary care was meant to work: a trusted physician who has the time to listen, teach and be there when you need them.
Joseph Sharp, MD, and Talley Sharp, MD, are board-certified physicians and co-founders of Sharp Health MD, a concierge primary care practice in Naples focused on prevention and longevity.
239-686-3310
www.sharphealthmd.com
info@sharphealthmd.com
625 Tamiami Trail North, Suite 302
Naples, FL 34102