Is concierge medicine right for you? Do you know how it’s different from a traditional medical practice?

For many people, the word “concierge” conjures an image of a uniformed or well-dressed employee at an expensive hotel who arranges tours and tickets for concerts for guests.

Concierge medicine is a health care model in which a patient pays a monthly, bi-annual or annual fee to see their physician, says Molly Moore, chief health plan officer at Decent, a startup based in Austin, Texas, that creates affordable health care plans for small businesses and self-employed professionals. Many of their clients have been hit hard by the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.