Beach Cities Medicine operates under the basic business model of a “concierge medicine” practice in Redondo Beach, CA. Also known as boutique medicine, retainer-based medicine, or membership medicine, this patient-centric healthcare model allows us to give patients the access, dedication, and service they need. No more long waits for short and rushed appointments, no more visits where you spend hours in a waiting room to be seen by an impersonal doctor who barely knows you — instead, we operate on an old-school, personalized, and comprehensive care model you would want for yourself or your family.

The volume-based healthcare system hurries patients in and out, with financial incentives driving doctors or their “care extenders” to see far too many patients per day to be able to connect with them on a personal level or have the margin to explore their symptoms or medical issues in greater depth. With concierge medicine, the incentive is entirely on providing excellent service to you – or you won’t (and shouldn’t) come back! Annual membership fees help us meet our own overhead costs, train and retain excellent staff, and serve you well without rushing through the high volume needed to do so via insurance alone.

Visits here are at least twice as long as standard in the South Bay area of Los Angeles, allowing us to be much more comprehensive with all aspects of your health, and you’re always seen by your own personal physician. Same-day or next-day access is the expectation, and we ensure that we have margin to do extra medical research on those tough conditions that we come across. We serve as quarterbacks for your healthcare, helping to schedule appointments and optimize communication in an overly specialized and very disjointed healthcare system to provide a holistic and integrated healthcare team as much as we can do. Your problems are our problems, and your health is our health. We optimize communication through excellent staff, expanded hours, text or email access, and even access to your provider’s cellphone for emergency needs. We are constantly innovating ways to improve our patient’s experience with us, as in doing so we believe that we can optimize our patients’ health and build stronger doctor-patient relationships for the years to come. This is healthcare … as it should be.

Concierge Medicine Q&A

Is concierge medicine right for me?

Patients of all ages and personality types find our concierge medicine services to be right for them. Some patients seek us out because they want to understand their health conditions more thoroughly and value the time we spend explaining things to them. Others seek us out due to their complex problems and multiple specialists involved in their care and see immense value in having someone with great expertise take the time to survey the bigger picture, the interactions of health conditions and medications, and to ensure that things don’t fall through the cracks. Yet others are in great health and simply want to stay that way – focusing on preventive medicine or contingency planning should something go awry in the future. As one of our patients said recently, “Doc, don’t take this the wrong way – I love seeing you, but I really don’t want to come in here more often – I just love the peace of mind in knowing that you’re here for me if you need me – kind of like my fire insurance! I hope to never use it, but I’m glad I have it!”

To be sure, the annual membership fee can be a barrier for some people, just like any other investment. We have tried to structure the annual fees most fairly – they get higher as we age, just as people’s healthcare complexity generally grows. In this way, we have tried to be as fair as possible to everyone and maintain access for patients of all ages. Some find that these costs are partly offset by being able to take care of multiple problems at one place and one visit, rather than waiting until their problems are more complex or being shuffled from one office to another to deal with their conditions. Many of us already pay a lot for healthcare that is inconvenient, rushed, and hard to access – and we’ve been told that the marginal cost increase for great service and “healthcare the way it should be” is a “no brainer!”

Will I still need health insurance?

Patients at medical practices that operate on a concierge medicine model still need health insurance. The annual membership fee is not the same as healthcare insurance and whatever your co-pays, deductibles, and other costs would be elsewhere should be the same as they are with us. You just get a lot more (time, staff, service, dedication) for your money!

Beach Cities Medicine accepts Medicare and the majority of PPO insurances. Other specialists we may refer you to, when necessary, will each have their own insurance agreements (or lack thereof) and we will work with you to help find a provider that accepts your insurance when needed and appropriate.

Can I still see a specialist if I’m paying for concierge medicine?

Of course! We do not have any financial agreements with other specialists or specialty groups because we want to remain unbiased and unrestricted in our referrals, trying to match each patient and health condition with a provider that will serve them best. They will each have their own financial relationships with insurances and their own scheduling restrictions that we do not pretend to control, however the staff at Beach Cities Medicine takes the extra time to try to help coordinate care when possible and we enjoy having physician collaboration discussions about your care whenever beneficial. We have been practicing in the area for over twenty years and have a network of trusted specialists ready to address your health issues.

Find Out More

Contact Beach Cities Medicine anytime to find out more about our concierge medicine practice in Redondo Beach, CA. We will be happy to answer any questions you may have and look forward to starting a relationship with you based on providing primary healthcare the way it should be!