Start a Concierge Medicine Practice

Most physicians think leaving insurance-based medicine is risky; a few hundred members on recurring fees can out-earn a packed panel.

1. 1

   Sort licensing and legal first

   Your medical license carries over, but membership medicine has its own rules. Have a healthcare attorney review your state's direct care laws and decide whether you will formally opt out of Medicare, which is a filing, not a preference.

2. 2

   Survey your current panel

   Ask 200 or more existing patients what they would pay for same-day access and longer visits. You need roughly 200 to 400 committed members to replace an employed salary.

3. 3

   Model the membership math

   At $150 to $300 per month, 300 members is $540,000 to $1,080,000 a year. Build the budget for staff, space, and malpractice from that number, not from hope.

4. 4

   Choose concierge or DPC

   Pure concierge keeps insurance billing plus a fee; direct primary care drops insurance entirely and runs leaner. The choice drives your legal setup, pricing, and software.

5. 5

   Set up the practice stack

   Form the entity, adjust malpractice coverage for the new model, and pick membership billing and an EMR built for this (Hint Health, Elation, or similar).

6. 6

   Pre-enroll founding members

   Sign members at founding pricing before you leave your job. A deposit-backed waitlist proves the model with zero burned bridges.

7. 7

   Launch and over-deliver access

   Open with same-day appointments, direct messaging, and 30 to 60 minute visits. Retention, not marketing, is what makes this model compound.