As managed care continues to chisel away at the amount of time physicians can give to their patients, interest in an option known as “concierge” or “boutique” medicine is building. The University’s Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine has opened its first practice of this type, which is limited in size to 600 patients.

By contrast, the 3,000 patients internist Robert R. Kemper, M.D., Ph.D. ’95, served in his successful Key Biscayne solo practice left him with no more than ten minutes for each patient visit. Kemper is now a Miller School faculty member and head of the concierge practice, which is a partnership between the Miller School and MDVIP, a Boca Raton-based firm that has helped establish more than 100 concierge practices in 15 states. For an annual fee ranging from $1,500 to $1,800, patients at the new Key Biscayne practice receive preventive services, which include a comprehensive annual physical and all visits throughout the year. They also receive conveniences like same- or next-day appointments and a password-protected Web page where they can view their medical records.

“I believe this type of reimbursement, which represents a movement toward payment for continuity of care and prevention rather than for episodic acute care, will prove to benefit the patient and the health care system,” says Laurence Gardner, M.D., executive dean for education and policy and former chairman of the Miller School Department of Medicine. “I am anxious to study the quality of care outcomes in this type of practice and compare them to the traditional model.”

Despite the name, Kemper asserts that concierge medicine is not limited by affordability. “Although the fee is not insignificant, at $125 a month people make choices about how they spend their money—whether it’s on cell phones, cable TV, entertainment, or their health,” he says.