Joining a concierge practice is a real commitment. Before you sign, there are specific questions worth asking any practice you're evaluating. The answers tell you whether the practice is actually built around the access and continuity you're paying for, or whether it's a traditional practice with a premium retainer attached.
How accessible will the doctor actually be?
This is the most important question. "Accessible" means different things at different practices. Get specifics.
Do you get the physician's direct cell phone number? How do after-hours communications work: truly 24/7, or with limits? What's the response time for non-urgent questions? When you call, do you reach the physician directly, or go through office staff first? What happens when the physician is on vacation or unavailable?
In my practice, patients get my cell phone. Text or call, any hour, and you reach me. Not an answering service, not a nurse triage line, not a covering physician you've never met. The direct relationship is the point.
What's included in the membership?
Concierge practices vary in what the fee covers. Before joining, get a detailed list of what's included and what generates additional charges.
Areas worth asking about:
- Annual comprehensive physicals and their scope
- Preventive screenings and wellness assessments
- Specialist coordination and hospital involvement
- Same-day or next-day appointment availability
- Telehealth and virtual visits
- Prescription management and medication review
- House calls, if offered
- Whether the practice also bills insurance for services
Also ask what's not included. Labs and imaging typically run through your insurance (or cash) regardless of the membership structure. Specialists usually aren't part of the membership. Hospital care isn't. Clarity on this upfront avoids confusion later.
How many patients does the practice accept?
This gets to why concierge medicine works. Traditional primary care physicians typically carry 2,000 to 3,000 patients, which is why access is limited and visits are rushed. Concierge panels are smaller, usually 300 to 600 patients. Some practices go further.
Ask the physician how many patients they currently have and what their maximum panel size is. A confident concierge doctor will answer directly. If a practice hedges or won't disclose, that tells you something. Below 300 is meaningful. My own practice caps at 50.
What's the doctor's background and approach?
Board certification and training matter. Beyond credentials, try to understand how the physician actually approaches medicine.
Are they proactive about prevention, or primarily reactive to problems that present? How do they think about lifestyle medicine alongside conventional treatment? Do they take time to explain the reasoning behind recommendations? How do they handle patients with complex histories or multiple conditions?
I'm board-certified in Internal Medicine. My approach is to treat patients as active participants in their care. I explain the reasoning behind what I'm recommending because informed patients make better decisions. If you want a physician who will tell you what to do without conversation, that's a different style of practice.
How does the practice handle emergencies and hospital care?
Urgent situations don't schedule themselves. Understanding how your concierge physician handles them is critical.
Does the doctor have admitting privileges at the local hospital? If you're admitted, will they be involved in your care, or do they hand off to hospitalists? How quickly can they arrange specialist consultations when something urgent comes up? What's their response time for concerns that come up overnight or on weekends?
In my practice, I have admitting privileges at Boca Raton Regional Hospital. When a patient is admitted, I'm involved in their care directly: communicating with specialists, reviewing results, ensuring handoffs are clean. After discharge, I see patients promptly to catch problems before they generate readmission.
How does care coordination across states work?
For snowbirds specifically, this is worth asking directly. Will the physician communicate with your home-state doctors? Will they maintain unified records? What does the handoff look like in the fall when you arrive and in the spring when you leave?
Traditional medicine handles this badly. Records get faxed into voids; phone calls don't get returned. A good concierge practice makes cross-state coordination a deliberate part of how it works.
Can I meet the doctor before committing?
Any reputable concierge practice will offer a consultation before you join. This isn't just the doctor evaluating fit. It's you evaluating whether this physician is someone you'd actually want to call when you're worried at 10 p.m.
Use the meeting to assess communication style, how they answer hard questions, whether they hedge or answer directly. Healthcare is personal. If the initial meeting doesn't feel right, trust that.
How does the billing model work?
Ask directly whether the practice bills insurance for services in addition to charging the membership, or whether it's private-pay. The answer changes the patient experience meaningfully.
My practice is private-pay. I don't bill insurance. The membership covers everything I deliver personally. You keep your insurance for everything that happens outside my office (labs, imaging, specialists, hospital care, prescriptions). Some patients prefer this structure; some don't. What matters is that you know what you're signing up for.
If the practice feels right
Choosing a concierge physician is ultimately about finding one whose structure and approach match what you actually need. Take your time. Ask the hard questions. A practice that's confident in how it operates will welcome them.
If you'd like to talk through whether my practice fits your situation, reach out. I'll answer questions directly and give you an honest read on whether I'm the right fit or whether another practice would be.
