How can a functional medicine doctor create a concierge medicine model for their patients?

There are two important legal tools here:

(1) your informed consent form, and

(2) your membership agreement with the patient.

The informed consent document is very important, because it lays out the unique types of functional medicine therapies and diagnostic approaches you’ll be using.  A clear legal document creates a good roadmap to the agreement between you and your patient.  Protect yourself and mitigate the risk of malpractice, or physician discipline, by providing a robust set of disclosures about the clinical benefits—and risks, if any, of the functional medicine approach.  Document that patient’s understanding of these issues in the medical chart, and in your consent form.

We draft these forms with an eye toward the specialized kind of language that functional medicine (as well as integrative medicine) doctors need to help mitigate their legal risk.

As to the membership agreement, this is where you get to spell out things like: how many visits you offer the patient; whether these are in person or by phone or videoconference; what the patient pays; whether lab tests and dietary supplements and medications are included or not.  And you also notify the patient that this is not intended to be a contract for insurance, and that the patient may not necessarily get reimbursed by insurance.

The better you clarify what the patient can and cannot expect, the lower your legal risk.

And that’s what a good functional medicine lawyer or integrative medicine attorney can do for you: draft language that puts your business vision on paper, clarifies expectations, and helps lower your overall legal risk profile.

Whether you have a conventional medical practice or one that specializes in functional or integrative medicine, call us today and let us help you craft your concierge plan.