(HealthDay) -- For $20,000 a year, you can get a very personal physician, who will see you any time you call, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, no appointment, no waiting.
The new trend in health care is described in this wire service story in the Washington Post. Instead of seeing 20 to 30 patients a day, some doctors are limiting their practices to one or two well-paying patients a day, the report says. The VIP care avoids hassles with insurance companies, gives doctors much more free time and increases their incomes, says Dr. Howard Maron, who plans to open 100 franchises across the country modeled after his own, very private Seattle practice.
MDVIP, a less expensive version of the pricey medical service, was begun by Dr. Robert Colton in Boca Raton, Fla., last year. He charges $1,500 a year above regular insurance rates and per-visit fees to keep his patient load down and his earnings up.
The new trend likely will be attractive to younger doctors whose incomes have stayed below $200,000 annually and not kept pace with inflation, reports the magazine Medical Economics.
