how to become a concierge doctor
TRANSCRIPT
Nathaniel Arana, NGA Healthcare Teresa Iafolla, eVisit
How to Become a Concierge Doctor
Converting to a Concierge or Direct Primary Care (DPC) Practice
June 2015
Who We Are
Teresa Iafolla
Content Marketing Manager, eVisit
Nathaniel Arana
President, NGA Healthcare
Host
Speaker
Your Presenter
Nathaniel Arana
President, NGA Healthcare
With his expertise from a top business management
program, Nathaniel was able to found and grow one of
the nation’s largest out-of-network billing companies. He
also worked as a manager and consultant for a physician
consulting company.
Nathaniel started NGA Healthcare because he wanted to
change the way physicians practice medicine by
lessening the influence of insurance companies. As a
physician advocate, he has helped his clients start
concierge and DPC practices, marketing their practices
and negotiating reimbursement rates.
www.ngahealthcare.com
Connect
The role of health insurance
• Cost to bill insurance: $471 billion
• 80% considered waste
• Cost contributed to complex rules and inefficiencies
• Problem for both physicians and health plans
• Higher premiums and lower reimbursement are the result
Concierge vs. Direct Primary Care
Concierge
• Smaller patient population (around 500)
• Still may bill insurance
• Typically higher priced ($200 - $500+ /month)
Direct Primary Care
• Larger patient population (1,000 – 2,000)
• No insurance billing, no insurance billing overhead
• Lower priced (as low as $50 /month)
Which is better?
• Depends on your goals
• Depends on your location
• Complete an analysis to understand which will work better
• Wealthy area?
• Medicaid and Medicare population?
The middle-class model
$50 - $100 per month depending on level of service and patient population/demographics
• At $50 a month with a 1,000 patient population, physician collects $50,000 monthly, $600,000 annually
• Lower overhead (let’s assume conservatively 40%)
• $400,000 annual salary
Concierge medicine for the rest of us…Direct Primary Care
What about Medicaid and Medicare Patients?
• Medicaid patients are typically financially indigent
• Charging Medicare patients cash for covered services
• Charging Medicare patients for non-covered services
• Grey area at the moment - best to look at your situation with the help of a qualified healthcare attorney
What should I charge?
• Understand your location and patient population
• What is your payer mix?
• Many variables to understand what patients will pay/conversion rate
How can I convert strategically?
• Analyze your payer mix
• Look at your underperforming contracts
• You don’t always need to terminate your contracts
• Start with the bottom 1/3
How can I convert strategically?
• Calculate break-even:
variable costs > reimbursement
• When a contract pays less, convert these patients
How can I convert strategically?
• Convert existing patients
• Patient education is key!
• Market aggressively
The importance of customer service
• The concierge/DPC patient expects higher quality of care
• Staff needs to be trained to focus on customer service
Friendly demeanor
Follow-up
Organization
Is it only for primary care?
• Can be implemented with any specialty
• Great for chronic care patients
• The answer to the ‘healthcare crisis’
The importance of technology
• Use technology to increase convenience
• Use technology to decrease unnecessary visits
• Enhance the patient-physician relationship
How do I market a DPC practice?
• Explain the benefits of this practice to patients
longer consultations
customized plans
same-day appointments
better access
technology to speak to your physician
How do I market a DPC practice?
• Use current patient base
• Educate current patients
• Reach out to new patients
• Internet marketing
• Targeting marketing
• Word of mouth
• This is the void in primary care patients are looking for
Benefits of Telemedicine
Increase patient satisfaction
Keep your patients within your practice (not an UC or ER)
Better patient engagement and more opportunity to interact with your patients
Less no-shows or cancelled appointments
Optimized patient flow
NGA Healthcare
• Strategic DPC/Concierge conversion
• Negotiate reimbursement rates
• Marketing strategies for DPC/Concierge practices
• http://www.ngahealthcare.com/direct-care/
Questions?
Teresa Iafolla
Content Marketing Manager, eVisit
Nathaniel Arana
President at NGA Healthcare
@eVisitapp
#evisitwebinar
Nathaniel Arana, NGA Healthcare and Teresa Iafolla, eVisit
Thank You!
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April 2015