Every winter, a large fraction of my patients in Boca Raton become Florida residents for a few months. They come from New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Ontario, Quebec, and a long list of other places where winter is the reason to leave. They also come with chronic conditions, medication regimens, and ongoing relationships with northern physicians that don't stop existing the day they arrive.
Traditional primary care doesn't handle this well. Snowbirds end up using urgent care for anything acute, waiting until they go home for anything that isn't, and running two disconnected sets of records. The result is fragmented care in both locations. Concierge medicine is a good fit for seasonal residents specifically because it's built around continuity and access, which is exactly what's missing when your year is split between two places.
What goes wrong in the traditional model
The common snowbird problems:
- No Florida physician who knows you, so anything that comes up gets triaged by someone who doesn't have your history.
- Prescription logistics across state lines. Different pharmacy networks, insurance confusions, mail-order lags.
- Emergency situations in unfamiliar systems. Knowing where to go and what your insurance covers shouldn't be something you figure out in the moment.
- No coordination between your northern and Florida providers. Lab results, medication changes, and new diagnoses don't flow both ways.
None of these are catastrophic individually. Together they add up to worse care.
How concierge medicine fits snowbirds
A concierge relationship is designed to solve the continuity problem. In my practice specifically:
I work directly with your northern physician. I send notes after each visit, pull in relevant records, and call or email your home doctor when something warrants it. The goal is one unified picture of your health, not two disconnected ones.
I'm reachable during your Florida months and off-season. When you're up north, telehealth, text, and email stay open. If something comes up, I can help you figure out whether it waits until you're back or whether you need to see someone locally.
Seasonal memberships are available. For patients who genuinely split time, the billing reflects that.
I'm capped at 50 patients, which is what makes this possible. You're not competing with 2,000 other patients for a slot.
Before you leave for Florida
A short checklist that avoids most of the headaches:
- Copies of recent medical records, including lab results and imaging reports from the last year
- A current medication list with doses and prescriber names
- Specialist contact information, especially for any specialist whose care is ongoing
- A 90-day supply of regular medications, if your insurance allows
- Your insurance cards, including Medicare cards and any supplemental coverage
- Emergency contacts and a simple sheet listing allergies and adverse reactions
Ask your northern physician to send records electronically before you leave. Most offices can do this in a few minutes. It saves a lot of time later.
When you arrive
Schedule a visit with your Florida physician early in the season, before you need care for something urgent. Use the visit to review medications, update the record, and discuss anything that's changed since last year. If you're new to concierge care in Florida, this first visit is also where we figure out how we'll coordinate with your home doctor.
Set up a local pharmacy. CVS, Publix, and Walgreens all handle interstate prescription transfers; in most cases your existing pharmacy can transfer scripts electronically. Know which locations are closest to where you're staying.
Know your emergency resources. The nearest hospital to your Florida home, an urgent care you'd use for something minor, and your doctor's after-hours number. In my practice, after-hours means my cell.
Common snowbird-specific health issues
A few things that affect this population more than most:
Heat and hydration. You don't acclimate to Florida heat the way year-round residents do. The first few weeks especially, watch for heat-related symptoms (dizziness, nausea, rapid heart rate) and be more aggressive about water intake than you'd be at home.
Activity changes. Golf, tennis, swimming, longer walks. Great for you, but sudden increases in activity can aggravate joints, back problems, and cardiac issues in ways that need management. We talk about this at the first visit of the season.
Medication storage. Florida humidity and heat can affect some medications. Don't leave anything in the car. Don't store inhalers or insulin in a bathroom.
Diet and alcohol. Seasonal social calendars tend to bump both up. If you have liver issues, blood pressure issues, or diabetes, it's worth calibrating what a reasonable Florida pattern looks like.
Insurance in Florida
Medicare. Original Medicare covers you anywhere in the U.S. If you're on a Medicare Advantage plan, check the network carefully; some Advantage plans have geographic restrictions that can leave you with significant out-of-network costs in Florida. I don't bill insurance in my practice, but your insurance continues to cover everything that happens outside my office.
Private insurance. Check your out-of-network coverage, deductible rules across states, and emergency coverage. If you'd rely on your insurance for anything more than an emergency, it's worth a call to the insurer before you leave.
Concierge membership. Separate from insurance. The membership fee covers access to me; insurance (or cash) covers whatever you need from the broader system.
What snowbirds actually get from this
The pitch isn't "premium healthcare." It's that your medical care doesn't downgrade the day you cross into Florida. You have the same kind of physician relationship here that you have at home. I know you. I know your medications and your history. When something comes up, we handle it, not a stranger at urgent care.
If you're a seasonal resident in Boca Raton or Palm Beach County and you want to talk about whether this fits your situation, reach out. I can answer specifics about seasonal membership and tell you honestly whether I think it's a good fit for how you use medicine.
