HealthClic[1] Private Doctors and their team delve into another challenge faced when running a concierge medical service.

By HealthClic, Special Contributor to Concierge Medicine Today, London, England

LONDON, ENGLAND – We discuss another key challenge of working with HNW individuals or those at the top. Last time we discussed The Trust Barrier [2]and how HealthClic and their team of private doctors in London have learned to adapt and build trust with HNW patients and their teams. Fundamental elements of healthcare can be complicated if you are a patient who is dealing with the spotlight, or even a significant level of pressure and status in your professional life.

Complex Schedules

One major challenge in looking after this patient population is adapting to various schedules, time frames and expectations. As discussed in the previous article,[3] not only do high net worth individuals travel very frequently, sometimes they travel at extremely last-minute notice.

One major change we have in place is that we have an administrative team working 7 days a week. Our private doctors do home visits across London 365 days a year, so not only do they need administrative support, but if a patient gets in touch to say that they are getting on a flight tonight and need a set of medication delivery, along with a letter for their manager/ assistant carrying said medication on a commercial plane, we have to respond fast and turn around the job within an hour or two. This a crucial difference between regular private doctors and concierge medicine providers, you go above and beyond to the extent that your model and operations are moulded around your patients’ needs. Secondly, this means you have to build a global network and must be prepared to schedule some medical appointments at short notice before a trip, and a system that reminds private doctors to follow up on an issue once the patient returns to his/her home country.

Longevity Planning & Busy Diaries

This requires the most organisation on our part. Members of our concierge medicine service have diaries which are inundated with commitments. If health issues get in the way – the implications are large. At HealthClic we refer to our members as ‘leaders’ because countless others rely on them for direction, livelihood and purpose. This goes beyond the financial risks of a health crisis.

Thus, preventative medicine, including annual check-ups with a patient’s private GP, are crucial. We need to monitor issues before symptoms arise. Upon registration, members are often unaware if issues exist, as they have not been checked up recently. Or, they are aware of issues, but these have not been addressed due to work and travel. It posed the question, how can a private medical practice genuinely help with such busy patients? We now personally chase up patients and their teams/assistants to schedule appointments and check-ups, diligently organising all tests in the time slots given to us. A strong network of London specialists is particularly helpful in enabling this, so we can contact radiologists or consultants on short notice to make special arrangements in seeing our patients at a particular location (optimised for discretion).

Complex Cases & Chronic Conditions

This is certainly a big area where patients of concierge doctors see massive benefits. At HealthClic, our private doctors made the decision to create a separate service called “Case Management” for patients suffering from chronic conditions and for complex cases.

We often have patients approaching us (with the aforementioned lifestyle and schedule restrictions) who have had chronic conditions for many years, which are not being managed optimally or treated in the best possible way for the patient. A common complaint is that the care is “disjointed” and that with such excessive travelling, the patient sees various doctors (who have all given different opinions on the management of the case), but does not have a team overlooking his/her condition and arranging regular check-ins. This can seem a very scary place to be, but as the “care co-ordination” responsibility of a concierge doctor, we are able to transform patients’ lives and enable them to live a more comfortable life with a chronic condition. Once you have a concierge doctor assessing you, working with a network of specialists to help you and liaising with these specialists regularly to bring the picture together and answer questions at your next appointment, it makes a world of a difference. It is the modern version of having your family doctor relationship back. Furthermore, concierge doctors are always a phone call away, enabling easy communication and translation of often conflicting or confusing reports from specialists when managing a chronic case. This finally matches up with a busy lifestyle, and offers a solution to patients.

Finally, complex cases are a tough challenge for concierge doctors, but one that is being met with positive results at HealthClic so far. As a concierge medicine provider, our focus and aim is on longevity planning, preventative medicine and thinking ahead. However, our doctors are becoming more accustomed to dealing with complex cases. One such learning curve for us was that private healthcare in London does not necessarily have the expertise (in the non public sector) to deal with certain cases, and therefore taking a global approach was the only way forwards when private hospitals rejected these patients. Co-ordinating specialists globally and looking for a specialised hospital can seem like a daunting task, however our private doctors personally join in on conference calls when presenting cases to these hospitals and work with patients to make a decision about where to go for an initial assessment, and which hospitals possess the necessary expertise. In such cases, second opinions are also a common need, so a concierge doctor can give an honest, holistic and unbiased view of a specialist’s opinion, encouraging patients to consider other options while undergoing the decision-making process.

This element of concierge medicine where your doctor becomes your medical advocate, is invaluable, and we have found has helped our doctors grow and improve their skills in a whole new sphere. The world has to become your oyster, and the HealthClic Doctors start to think with a no-restrictions or limitations viewpoint, which gives patients a multitude of options. Think of the case of Michael Schumacher – his wife started a hospital in his home and facilitated care co-ordination and complex case management herself. Now he is undergoing a special type of stem cell treatment, [4]which is supposedly pioneering, but this would have presumably come from an out-of-the-box thinker and after a lot of research and detailed discussions with Mr Schumacher’s doctors. The value in such co-ordination is clear, and it must be global to match the needs of families like these, who require as much support as possible on this planet, when going through such a tough time.

Concluding thoughts

Adapting to lifestyles of your patients can not only meet certain needs, but rapidly enhance and accelerate the skills possessed by your team of doctors (and non-medical team). Concierge doctors should certainly share their learnings and adaptations to meet schedules of various patient populations and how they adapt themselves around it. We believe this is not only creating a new generation of private doctors, who are responsive and freely available, but making private healthcare globally connected as concierge doctors are great facilitators of care co-ordination across specialists and hospitals from around the world. They learn great skills by working with various teams, which raises the importance of that trusted doctor-patient relationship.

[1] HealthClic Concierge Medicine: https://healthclic.co.uk

[2] “When Does The Trust Barrier Start?”, HealthClic Online: https://healthclic.co.uk/blog/when-does-the-trust-barrier-start/

[3] HealthClic, Sep 2018, “The One Major Psychological Challenge Of The Ultra-Wealthy”, Concierge Medicine Today Online: https://conciergemedicinetoday.org/2018/09/20/the-one-major-psychological-challenge-of-the-ultra-wealthy-as-told-by-concierge-doctors/

[4] V. Lambert, August 2015: “Revolutionary Stem Cell Treatment Could Give Hope to Michael Schumacher”, The Telegraph Online. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/body/revolutionary-stem-cell-treatment-could-give-hope-michael-schumacher/

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