In recent years, many doctors have chosen to forgo the traditional practice model to go concierge. Instead of dealing with the mess of insurance paperwork and less-than-adequate payouts, these physicians work on retainer fees as high as $10,000 to $15,000. This allows them to spend more time with a smaller number of patients, offering them truly individualized care.
However, several doctors in Los Angeles are carving out their own concierge niches, choosing not to work on retainer but instead offer a menu of ร la carte services . Perhaps itโs the gig economy, but reasonably priced, accessible house calls are a service many Angelenos are glad to sign up for.
Dr. Sal Nadkarni, aka Dr. Sal, is currently the only physician marketing himself as a cosmetic concierge doctor. After completing his residency at Northwestern University Hospital in Chicago, he became the global medical director for the Botox division of Allergan in Orange County. He spent years studying less-than-glamorous uses for the drug including migraine headaches, excessive sweating, chronic pain and overactive bladder. After moving on from that position, he began to practice in a medical office downtown, but he wanted to do something with the MBA he’d earned at UCI while working in Orange County. After a great amount of research, he was โdumbfounded to discover, that while there were many concierge doctors, no one was doing this for cosmetics here in Los Angeles.โ
Dr. Salโs Rejuvenation in Motion takes the ever-popular medspa concept and makes it mobile. As you can imagine, he doesnโt exactly have a shortage of patients in this city. โMy patient profile is 50 percent regular people and 50 percent celebrities/VIPs and other people in the entertainment industry,โ he says, โItโs a lot of people who just donโt have time to go to the doctor and get these things done because they are away on the set for so long. Of course, itโs convenient.โ
What a brilliant strategy. I imagine he’s making a killing doing mobile work such as that. Must also be a huge convenience for the big names who are looking to get something done on short notice.