AIM Health Sets Sites On Better Healthcare Through Membership or Concierge Model

WEST LINN, OR (PRWEB) April 20, 2016

Drs. Sue Lewis and Amy Gillcrist, formerly with Sendant Health, have created a new hybrid medical practice that accepts both membership and traditional adult patients. Unlike Sendant Health, AIM Health provides a more affordable membership level to ideally bring the concept of concierge medicine to a wider range of audiences.

"We started this practice because we believe physicians can better serve patients by giving them more time and access," said Dr. Amy Gillcrist, medical director and internal medicine physician at AIM Health. "According to the Centers for Disease Control, one in seven adults suffers from chronic disease; many are preventable with behavior change. Today's bottomline-focused healthcare system falls short of providing the physician the time needed to help patients manage behavior change. At AIM Health, the core ingredient is time. Time to research, care and become a true partner in managing their health."

Concierge medicine, the idea where patients pay a monthly fee to gain better access to their physician, has been on the rise nationally, with more than 4,500 physicians practicing in the U.S. According to a 2014 Kaiser Health News article, today's traditional fee-for-service healthcare model rewards physicians for seeing patients in bulk, thereby reducing time spent and the physician's ability to manage more complex issues in a typical 15-minute doctor visit. This is compounded by the millions of consumers now entering the system due to the Affordable Care Act.

"By all accounts, short visits take a toll on the doctor-patient relationship, which is considered a key ingredient of good care, and may represent a missed opportunity for getting patients more actively involved in their own health," Kaiser Health News.

AIM Health plans to combat this issue by keeping the patient load smaller for the clinic overall. This way both membership and traditionally paying patients gain more time and attention from their physician. "Lowering the patient load enables us to spend valuable time researching and better understanding our patients' conditions so we can practice better medicine. This luxury of time is not something traditional clinics can do when a physician is seeing in 25--30 patients a day."

AIM Health's membership is $100 per month and gives members longer, more personal visits, same day or next day appointments, and 24/7 access to their doctor by cell phone, text or email.

"Patients love being able to just pick up the phone and call me," said Dr. Gillcrist. "I'm able to answer questions and help discern the need for a visit right over the phone."

The membership is positioned as an upgrade, one that can begin or be cancelled at any time. Office visits and services are billed to insurance just like traditional medical clinics.

Drs. Lewis and Gillcrist have also expanded the practice to include Dr. Kathryn Kolonic, a family medicine physician who will be joining the practice in May 2016. In addition, the physicians will be building a new clinic location in West Linn. AIM Health is currently accepting new patients and has a temporary location at 18603 Willamette Drive in West Linn, Ore., until the new clinic is complete. AIM Health accepts most insurance plans and, contrasting another national healthcare trend, AIM Health actively accepts Medicare patients.

For more information, visit aimhealthnw.com.

About AIM Health, LLC
AIM Health is a primary care medical practice located in West Linn, Oregon, and was founded on the belief that better healthcare is possible. The desire to go back to the way it used to be when your doctor was more like family; before profit became more important than patients. Drs. Amy Gillcrist, Kathryn Kolonic, and Sue Lewis are a team of highly skilled physicians who guide patients through a range of health issues from advising on preventive care to complex chronic disease and medication management. The clinic is unique in that it offers both traditional and membership based payment options. Membership is an upgrade fee per month that provides 24/7 access to your physician. The clinic is currently located at 18603 Willamette Drive, West Linn, Oregon, 97068. Find out more at http://www.aimhealthnw.com or call (503) 908-1590.

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