“One truism we can all probably agree on in our complicated and hectic healthcare culture is that when a patient feels appreciated, they will usually do more than is expected,” says the Host/Organizer of the industry’s annual conference, the Concierge Medicine Forum. “I know this because I am a patient, and five words from my Doctor(s) carry a lot of weight in my life. There’s a reason 1 in 3 patients surveyed are reaching “burned out” status. There’s also a reason why 61% of patients say the U.S. healthcare system is a hassle, and 53% of patients feel it [a Doctor’s Office] treats them more like a number than a person. Add to that the worsening customer-no-service culture across the U.S. where patients say they’re tired of waiting weeks or months for appointments that are over in minutes. They’re tired of providers who treat them like electronic health record entries rather than people. Unfortunately, all this can dissuade people entirely from getting any medical care at all—and if that happens, all of our communities, big and small, may get a lot unhealthier than they already are. Patients are burned out. But I think there are many Doctors blazing new trails and sending back road maps for others to follow. There are visioneering Doctors out there who recognize their knowledge gap(s) in certain areas of running their practice and are willing to do things a little different. The Concierge Medicine Physician is one of those continually innovative Physicians in our midst. The Concierge Medicine Physician today is: purposefully more communicative with patients; intentional about blending their knowledge of medicine with more preventative care conversations all the while showing the same social graces and respect to their patients that they would show a close friend. Concierge Medicine creates a unique bond between Physician and Patient. And I think that’s something special. I believe that’s a relationship with our Physician we can lean into and learn from.”