There is an old Yiddish saying: "If the rich could pay the poor to die for them, the poor would make a very good living." Well, it is coming to pass.
Concierge medicine is a relationship between a patient and a physician in which the patient pays an annual fee or retainer. In exchange for the retainer, doctors provide enhanced care. Other terms in use include boutique medicine, retainer-based medicine, and innovative medical practice design.
The NY Times had an eye-opening article on this topic on April 30, 2011: Putting Your Doctor, or a Whole Team of Them, on Retainer. It is worth reading to see where this trend is going. The rich are, in this case, co-opting physicians' time that might better be spent with poor suffering humanity.
Osler wrote: "The practice of medicine is a calling not a business." Clearly, some arrogant, greedy physicians do not adhere to his sentiment.
