LouCouPsych is proud to introduce a new service line, Concierge Psychiatry with Dr. Mirza, to the Northern Virginia area. What is concierge medicine, specifically psychiatry, and how is it different from the services already provided? Is this going to change things going forward for the care I am already receiving? Read more to find out.
Made popular by the television show Royal Pains that ran on USA between 2009-2016, concierge medicine is a model of practice where a doctor will take on a smaller number of patients in order to provide an even better level of care, with the focus more on the patients and their time, ensuring adequate appointment time and availability to be seen, as opposed to being limited by specific time constraints. Benefits of concierge medicine include 24/7 access to the physician, increased and direct methods of communication with the physician, increased appointment time, potential in-home or in-office visits, as well as increased privacy. With this increased level of care, there is a premium annual fee involved, which works as a sort of retainer or subscription service.
With psychiatry specifically, concierge medicine works ideally for many reasons, mostly due to the more confidential and sensitive nature of the field. For some individuals, and families of those individuals, with more complex presenting issues such as Autism spectrum disorder, psychotic disorders, or addiction services, having that additional accessibility can be an added level of care and peace of mind at times. In an area of the country where privacy, security, and confidentiality is key, finding a mental health provider who understands and appreciates that is exceedingly rare.
I, Dr. Mirza, am making this move for many reasons, primarily being the rapid growth of the practice beyond any of my optimistic expectations. With the increasing demands of managing the practice, as well as the scope of my work with Inova, not to mention my family, I have had to enlist more help in order to provide the continued high level of care that I envisioned when I started. We will be adding another psychiatrist in the coming months, another therapist, and perhaps even more team members, and will be looking to move to a new location as well to be able to accommodate the team needs. Once the newest psychiatrist joins the practice, I will be limiting the number of new patients I take on, to exclusively patients pursuing addiction services, ADHD management, and patients in the concierge service. I will not be abandoning any of my current and future patients that I have before that time.
With the concierge services, I will be offering:
24/7 access with my personal cell phone number,
faster turn around time on messages or requests,
lengthier appointment times if requested,
preferential scheduling with non-standard appointment times if requested,
shorter wait times to appointments, as well as urgent visits,
increased frequency of appointments if requested,
telepsychiatry as an option if requested,
potential in-home or in-work/office appointments, and
increased privacy if requested and as best possibly accommodated.
For more information, as well as requesting a quote for concierge services, please contact me today. I look forward to being able to provide this new service!