Trade publication Concierge Medicine Today estimated that there are as many as 12,000 concierge doctors in the U.S., still just a small percentage of total physicians. Prime Surgeons has launched a beta test of its concierge surgery business in L.A. County. But a concierge surgery model poses different challenges than primary care medicine, said Nadereh Pourat, director of research at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. A Los Angeles company is looking to expand the field of concierge medicine to include on-demand surgical care. “Surgery is not the same as primary care, where you know you’re going to need it,” she said.

Source: Los Angeles Times June 17, 2016 09:56 UTC