Michael Jackson's death puts 'concierge doctors' in the spotlight
Michael Jackson's death puts 'concierge doctors' in the spotlight
Sunday, July 5th 2009, 4:27 AM
Dr. Cheryl BryantBruce, M.D., Founder of Elite Personal Physician Services, Inc.
Cheryl BryantBruce, a Los Angeles doctor, flies all over the world to treat her affluent clients and check their wardrobes and homes for health hazards.
Doctors from "MD2" rush to a patient's private jet to give last-minute vaccinations before an exotic vacation.
They are called "concierge doctors," and they carry a small roster of patients and cater to the wealthy or famous.
This elite medical care is in the spotlight since Michael Jackson's cardiologist has made global headlines.
Concierge medicine has been a trend among the well-to-do, but is also making inroads with the less-affluent.
Jackson's doctor, Conrad Murray, takes the concierge concept to the higher realm of "doctor to the stars."
BryantBruce, who has no more than 20 patient families at a time in her Elite Personal Physician Services, commands as much as $150,000 a year per patient family package.
"It's an ideal fit for celebrities, athletes and business executives," she said, noting the high cost they are willing to pay lets her work free for the needy.
For those willing to pay $15,000 a year per person, and $25,000 per family, there is MD2, (pronounced MD Squared), which calls itself the pioneer of concierge medicine.
"We take care of the carriage trade," said Diane Guerts, marketing director of MD2.
They aren't in New York yet, but in San Francisco and several cities in the northwest, its doctors have luxurious offices and see no more than 50 patients.
MD2 counts Fortune 500 members, worth from $1 million to $10 million, among its patients.
"The care is no-holds-barred," Guerts said. Doctors go to a home, office or private jet.
The company was founded in 1996 in Seattle by Dr. Howard Maron, who treated Seattle Sonics basketball players.
"We value the privacy and discretion of our patients," said Guerts, who would not reveal any names.
MDVIP is making personalized care more available to a wider spectrum of patients.
Darin Engelhardt, founder and chief financial officer for MDVIP, said 100,000 patients in 27 states pay an extra $1,500 a year for individualized care.
"It's solidly within reach of the middle class," he said, bristling that Murray has been referred to as a "concierge" doctor.
A promoter of Jackson's comeback London concerts said Jackson told him he needed Murray because "I need personal care and I want a doctor 24-7, like President Obama."
BryantBruce said she would be able to dedicate herself to just one client like Jackson "if he bought substantial packages."
Doctors like Murray have been a Hollywood staple for decades.
Elvis Presley never traveled without his Dr. George (Dr. Nick) Nichopoulos.
Elvis called Nichopoulos the day he died, complaining of dental pain. Dr. Nick wrote a prescription for Dilaudid, a powerful painkiller.
Nichopoulos was later indicted on charges of overprescribing addictive drugs to Presley, singer Jerry Lee Lewis and seven others. He was acquitted.
Nearly 47 years before the 911 call from Jackon's mansion, Marilyn Monroe's personal doctor called the Los Angeles Police Department from her Brentwood mansion.
"I'm Dr. Hyman Engelberg, Marilyn Monroe's physician. I'm at her residence. She's committed suicide," he told cops after she died of a prescription drug overdose.