Concierge Medicine: The Doctor Is (Always) In, If You Pay Enough

Concierge Medicine: The Doctor Is (Always) In, If You Pay Enough
For anyone who has ever waited days or weeks to see the doctor, concierge medicine sounds appealing: For an additional fee, patients typically enjoy same-day appointments and 24-hour access, more face time with the doctor and extra preventative care. Doctors who offer concierge medicine say the practice frees them from the constraints imposed by insurance providers and allows them time to give patients the individualized attention they need. Skeptics argue that concierge medicine promotes a two-tiered system, improving health care for a few but worsening it for everyone else.


A concierge (French pronunciation: [kɔ̃sjɛʁʒ]) is an employee who either works in shifts within, or lives on the premises of an apartment building or a hotel^{[citation needed]} and serves guests with duties similar to those of a butler. The position can also be maintained by a security officer over the 'graveyard' shift. A similar position, known as the portero, exists in Spanish-speaking regions. The term "concierge" evolved from the French Comte Des Cierges, The Keeper of the Candles, who tended to visiting nobles in castles of the medieval era. In medieval times, the concierge was an officer of the King who was charged with executing justice, with the help of his bailiffs.^{[citation needed]}