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Concierge Medicine: The Perfect Storm? Implications For Nurse Practitioners

Linda A. Treiber

This article addresses a recent change in the health care delivery system: the concierge medical practice, where doctors provide an array of special services by limiting practice to a small number of patients willing to pay a membership fee. The purpose of this article is to document this trend and to situate it within the health care system. Although beneficial for patients who can afford it, concierge medicine leads to increasing health care inequalities and disparities in the United States. The implications for nurse practitioners include caring for a larger and sicker population of underserved patients.