Not a physician so just a user like you but I've gone through this thought process myself so maybe it will help. Some physicians understand the consumer perspective while others do not. I take a pragmatic view not an idealistic one. There may still be situations where you can find a PCP and some specialists practicing like it is still 1996 not 2026, but those are becoming increasingly rare. If you can fine one great.
There are a lot of advantages to having your PCP and specialty physicians being in the same system and using the same electronic medical records system (e.g. EPIC MySource or Oracle/Cerner). It can mean fewer tests and easy, faster to share results and can make any necessary insurance approvals easier which can be very important. You want the medical system to be your advocate with the insurance, not be the person stuck in the middle trying to coordinate insurance among multiple providers. An emergency room immediately knows your medical history. Drug interactions.
Concierge: same would apply, that's going to work best when the physician is in the same network as the specialists. Concierge can have different fee structures and different services and different abilities. Some of this also depends on where you live, some areas this all works better than others. For example, my understanding from friends and relatives in Tucson, Las Vegas, and Albuquerque is that it can be very challenging to get care there with employer insurance or Medicare without some sort of concierge relationship. High cost, rural, desiriable places for physicians to live all factor in too. One observation of my physician friends is that they get great care from each other without concierge, but that may not be helpful to the rest of us.
It's your decision, but if if I had a significant medical condition that is expected to need specialized treatment for a long time I would find a PCP in the system with the specialists you need (e.g. cancer, organ transplant, etc). Subject to any other details that matter.
There are a lot of advantages to having your PCP and specialty physicians being in the same system and using the same electronic medical records system (e.g. EPIC MySource or Oracle/Cerner). It can mean fewer tests and easy, faster to share results and can make any necessary insurance approvals easier which can be very important. You want the medical system to be your advocate with the insurance, not be the person stuck in the middle trying to coordinate insurance among multiple providers. An emergency room immediately knows your medical history. Drug interactions.
Concierge: same would apply, that's going to work best when the physician is in the same network as the specialists. Concierge can have different fee structures and different services and different abilities. Some of this also depends on where you live, some areas this all works better than others. For example, my understanding from friends and relatives in Tucson, Las Vegas, and Albuquerque is that it can be very challenging to get care there with employer insurance or Medicare without some sort of concierge relationship. High cost, rural, desiriable places for physicians to live all factor in too. One observation of my physician friends is that they get great care from each other without concierge, but that may not be helpful to the rest of us.
It's your decision, but if if I had a significant medical condition that is expected to need specialized treatment for a long time I would find a PCP in the system with the specialists you need (e.g. cancer, organ transplant, etc). Subject to any other details that matter.
Statistics: Posted by stan1 — Thu Jan 15, 2026 10:10 am — Replies 1 — Views 66