Concierge care: The doctor is at your service

Consumers pay membership fees for almost everything these days, from streaming movies online to the ability to grocery shop at certain stores. So why not health care?

Concierge medicine — also known as direct medicine or private medicine — allows patients to pay doctors directly, usually in the form of an annual or monthly fee, for increased face time with the doctor and enhanced medical care.

The concierge model is a small sliver of the overall physician landscape, with about 4,400 physicians nationwide participating in some form.