“Dr. Stacey Robinson takes the time to really get to know you. And to do the research to really understand our health problems, so she can provide us with the best, appropriate treatments for our (health) conditions. She really does know us and does everything possible to help us, whenever we need her, day or night, which brings us great peace of mind.” – Seena Baker, 81, speaking for herself and her husband, Bill, 85.
If you are like many seniors, you are probably facing more health issues than at any previous time in your life. This also means you are likely seeing your family doctor more often than ever before.
Therefore, wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could have access to your physician whenever needed? Wouldn’t it be great if you never had to wait, even a minute or two, to see your doctor? Wouldn’t it be great if your physician made house calls?
What you need (although there are not many of them here in the Tampa Bay area) is a doctor like Dr. Stacey Robinson, who maintains a unique medical practice, Robinson Family Medicine, in downtown St. Petersburg, at 200 Central Ave.
She treats patients using an innovative means of doctor-patient health care known as “concierge medicine.”
Concierge medicine is a form of medical care based on a financial relationship between a patient and a primary care physician, whereby the patient via a contract pays a pre-agreed upon annual fee for a particular plan. In many cases, this plan will provide access by the patient to his or her physician for an array of personal medical care services whenever needed.
In Dr. Robinson's practice, she has three basic "membership" plans she currently offers ranging in price from about $950 per person per year to $2,500 per person on an annual basis. And obviously the more you can afford to pay the more services and access to Dr. Robinson for patient care you will receive.
As noted on Dr. Robinson's website - robinsonfamilymedicine.com - her practice does not accept payment via insurance companies. Hence, in most instances, those who decide to take advantage of Dr. Robinson's concierge type of care will be paying out of pocket.
Patients with Medicare may join the practice and receive all of the same services as non-Medicare patients, but keep in mind since Dr. Robinson has chosen to opt-out of Medicare, she doesn't bill Medicare for any of her direct services. So there will still be a fee for care provided. However, for various medications, labs, and tests she recommends these will often be covered by Medicare.
Given the financial stipulations for this type of care obviously those who are fortunate enough to live an upscale lifestyle are the most likely to consider seeing a concierge physician, but such constraints haven't stopped Dr. Robinson from practicing her unique kind of health care. Since opening her doors just a few years ago, she has continued to grow her practice, especially among seniors, who like the fact they have immediate access 24/7. She even makes house calls.
Two senior patients who refer to Dr. Robinson as a “blessing,” thoroughly glad they found her, are Bill and Seena Baker. Both former health care professionals, these two octogenarians said “concierge medicine” is something they have been familiar with and know they made the right decision when they hired Dr. Robinson to be their family physician. “Her personalized attention is wonderful. With her there is never a rush, a major benefit you receive,” Bill noted.
“We don’t just have her office number. We have her cell phone number, so we can reach her anytime,” Seena stated. She noted that in the past Dr. Robinson has responded when they needed her, visiting their home when Bill got sick and making hospital visits for both of them, often on a moment’s notice.
Dr. Robinson brings an impressive resume to her practice. She earned her bachelor’s degree at California State University, Long Beach, and graduated with honors from Tulane University School of Medicine. She also served in the U.S. Air Force, caring for our troops, their families and retired service members. She completed her family medicine residency at David Grant Medical Center (Travis Air Force Base) and then came to Florida serving as the medical director at MacDill Air Force Base Primary Care Clinic until 2003.
She says that after years of practicing traditional medicine, with treatment based on various insurance-based health care models, “I found that I was not able to give patients the time, accessibility and close relationship that patients deserve from a family doctor.” As a result, in June 2008, she opened her current practice in an effort to “offer that higher level of care, one that preserves the integrity of the doctor-patient relationship.”
For Dr. Robinson that higher level of care begins at the initial consultation. She says her first meeting with a patient is anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes.
A way of practicing medicine that has only been around a little more than decade, and still unknown to probably most Americans, Dr. Robinson feels, in spite of its limited awareness, concierge medicine is not only here to stay, but has a solid future. As she put it, “I plan to be around serving patients with this type of care for many years to come.”
For more information on concierge medicine visit Dr. Robinson’s website: www.robinsonfamilymedicine.com or visit the American Academy of Private Physicians’ website: www.aapp.org and click on “For Patients.”
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