W E L L N E S S
‘CONCIERGE’ DOCTORS
TAKE THEIR TIME ACCESSIBLE (AND LONGER) APPOINTMENTS AND DOCTORS WHO PRESCRIBE PATIENT WELLNESS
I
BY CONNIE GENTRY | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN MICHAEL SIMPSON
magine calling your doctor and that offer accessible appointments, plenty getting a same-day appointment. of doctor-patient time and doctors who Imagine that doctor recognizing advocate for patient wellness. you and knowing your medical “Time is such a precious commodity,” history because you are one of only said Dr. Deborah Ann Ballard, a primary a few hundred patients they see as care physician at Duke Integrative opposed to one among thousands. Medicine, “and the more time we get to And imagine the doctor spends all the spend with patients, particularly those time needed in your appointment, as with chronic, complex or multiple medical opposed to the 10- to 15-minute visits challenges, the better the outcomes. And that have become the trademark of the better we get to know our patients, overloaded traditional medical practices. the better we can recommend integrative The idea of more time treatments that include with patients, coupled lifestyle factors that can with comprehensive prevent medical problems Dr. Todd medical care and referrals, and promote longevity and Granger opened are the underpinnings of well-being.” Primus Internal Medicine, a the increasingly popular The concierge model direct primary “concierge doctor” model. includes a monthly or care practice off Those goals undergird the annual fee – ranging from Hwy. 15-501, in October 2016. spread in Chapel Hill and $1,800-and-above per year surrounding communities of (usually not covered by concierge medical practices insurance) – and the promise customized for the individual that the practice will limit
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CHATHAM MAGAZINE
WINTER 2021-2022