CONCIERGE MEDICINE

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Steven D. Knope is a local primary-care doctor in Phoenix, Arizona, who treats a small group of patients in exchange for an annual fee. Known as "concierge medicine," this practice is gaining popularity, particularly among older Americans with complex medical needs. The concept started in Seattle in 1996 with mostly wealthy patients and has since spread to people of more modest means.

• Annual fees range from $500 to $15,000.
• Doctors limit the number of patients they see and give them highly personalized attention, including detailed annual physicals, preventive care, same-day appointments and a promise to return their calls quickly, 24/7.

Although there is no precise count, Thomas W. LaGrelius, a Torrance, Calif., geriatrician and president of the Society for Innovative Medical Practice Design, a professional society for concierge physicians, estimates that as many as 5,000 doctors and one million patients are involved in concierge care.

[Offered as an example of the many-many creative ideas that will arise in our free market to address health care -- if left free.]

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image toon - hcare = Oby = tax everyone until hcare is free