Concierge Medical Practice

Frustrated with the direction your medical practice is headed? Are tired of seeing more patients, making less money and working evenings or weekends just to keep up? If so, a concierge or “direct pay practice” conversion may be the answer been looking for. Concierge medical practices have increased tenfold over the past four years. Understandably so, since physicians and specialists who have converted to a direct pay or concierge practice report that they feel a stronger sense of control over their lives, income and how they deliver patient care. The Concierge Department works with physicians to find qualified patients. Our sponsors underwrite part of the searches.

Retinoids Topical Acne Treatment

Retinoids are a group of medications that normalize the follicle cell lifecycle. There are topical retinoids such as tretinoin (brand name Retin-A), adapalene (brand name Differin) and tazarotene (brand name Tazorac). Like isotretinoin, these medications are similar to vitamin A, but they are topical treatments and generally have much milder side effects. However, they can cause significant irritation of the skin. The retinoids appear to influence the creation and death lifecycle of cells in the follicle lining. This helps prevent the hyper-keratinization of these cells that can create a blockage. Retinol, a form of vitamin A, has similar but milder effects and doctors prescribe because it also contains moisturizers. Doctors have prescribed topical retinoids for over 30 years, but are not available over the counter, so they are not as widely used as other topical treatments. Topical retinoids often cause an initial flare up of acne and facial flushing.

Fat Loss Surgeon

A fat loss surgeon performs bariatric surgery, bypass surgery, gastric banding and obesity surgery. Surgical weight control is an option for very overweight who cannot lose pounds with only a healthy diet and exercise. Weight loss surgery limits the amount of food a person can intake. Some operations also restrict the amount of food the stomach can digest. Many people who have fat loss surgery lose weight quickly. If patients follow all diet and exercise recommendations, most can keep the weight off. Like all surgeries, fat loss surgery has risks and complications, including infections, hernias and blood clots. Men who are at least 100 pounds overweight and women who are at least 80 pounds overweight are eligible for this surgery. If candidates somewhat less overweight, surgery still might be an option if they also have diabetes, heart disease or sleep apnea. Bariatric surgery, or weight loss surgery, is a type of procedure that doctors perform on people who are dangerously obese. This procedure achieves weight loss by surgical reduction of the size of the stomach by means of an implanted gastric banding device, through removal of a portion of the stomach or by re-sectioning and re-routing the small intestines to a small stomach pouch as gastric bypass surgery. Long-term studies show that fat loss surgery procedures result in significant long-term loss of weight, recovery from diabetes, improvement in cardiovascular risk factors, and a reduction in mortality of 23 percent to 40 percent. The U.S. National Institutes of Health recommends bariatric surgery for obese people with a body mass index (BMI) of at least 40. When a patient ingests just a small amount of food, the first response is a stretching of the wall of the stomach pouch, stimulating nerves, which tell the brain that the stomach is full. The patient feels a sensation of fullness, as if they had just eaten a large meal—but with just a thumb-full of food.