4 Ways Concierge Medicine Helps Moms Manage Time Better

Tina Fey once said “being a mom has made me so tired. And so happy.” Motherhood can be equal parts exhausting and amazing.

And when it comes to managing the health of you and your family, it can just be plain challenging. You want to take care of yourself, but you also worry about your children, your spouse, and maybe your aging parents or in-laws.

• Corralling your kids for a doctor’s appointment? A potential nightmare.
• Getting your spouse in for a timely check-up? Like cutting teeth.
• Helping your parents or in-laws get the care they need as they get older? A constant stressor.

Often, it just feels like there isn’t enough time in the day. You don’t have time to wait an average of 18-24 days for an appointment or spend an average of two hours at the doctor’s office.

One solution? Concierge medicine. As a leading concierge practice, we’ve cared for thousands of busy moms and their families and delivered an experience that helps them manage their time better.

If you’re considering switching to concierge medicine – and probably bringing your family along, too – here are four ways concierge medicine helps your busy life as a mom.

1. Concierge medicine provides convenient, personalized care for you.

First, let’s start with you. You can’t be the caretaker you want to be for your family if you aren’t taking care of your own health.

78% of women say they put off "taking care of themselves or getting their health appointments made because they are so busy taking care of other family members' health."

At its core, concierge medicine gives physicians time to spend with their patients and get to the root cause of issues. It allows them to address the root cause of issues, instead of treating symptoms.

No more putting off that lingering health concern. No more self-medicating or toughing it out. Your own health is important. Beginning a relationship with a concierge doctor makes it a priority.

2. Concierge medicine provides streamlined scheduling and access to care for your young children (5+).

When it comes to concierge medicine for children, let’s start with the youngsters. Most concierge practices employ family doctors or internists, but not pediatricians, so if you’re interested in concierge medicine for your young children, you’ll need to wait till they are at least five for them to see a family doc.

But we all know raising children is nonstop go, go, go. The schedule almost always has something else up next. School in the morning, sports in the afternoon, piano lessons, a playdate with friends, and whatever else makes your kid happy.

One other activity young kids seem to love? Getting sick. They are magnets for germs. Kids can get 8 or more colds per year, and that's just the common cold. 

So amid all the other activities, you’re going to need to squeeze in at least a couple of doctor’s appointments per year, too? In the traditional primary care world, that can seem next to impossible.

There are a few key cogs of the concierge medicine experience that take the burden off you when it comes to getting timely care for your children:

• Same-day or next-day scheduling for acute care
• No long waits in the lobby or exam room
• 24/7 access to care
• Coordination of care for specialists
• Longer appointments give you the chance to truly talk to your doctor

A streamlined experience means you know you’ll be able to get an appointment when your kid gets sick.

It means when you get to the doctor’s office, you won’t be stuck waiting in a lobby. No more entertaining bored kids or calming down a restless sibling in the exam room. With concierge medicine, taking your kids to the doctor’s is easy, because that’s how it should be.

3. Concierge medicine provides an accessible, trustworthy resource for your children as they head to college and become young adults.

Let’s face it. Growing up is hard, and there are some things your child may not want to discuss with you, especially as they get closer and closer to college age.

But a doctor they trust who has the time to truly care for them? That might do the trick.

For older children, those of college age, concierge medicine can be equal parts useful for them and a relief for you.

When your children leave for college, they’re often hours away from their known medical providers. They can go to their on-campus health facility, sure, but that’s not the same as their own personal physician.

And with all the new experiences they are getting, it’s no secret that mental health in college students is a real concern. One study found that 50% of college students reported their mental health to be below average or poor. 

While primary care physicians are not therapists or psychologists, they are a proven first line of defense for spotting symptoms. That is…if your children trust them enough and can talk to them in a timely manner.

That’s where concierge medicine comes into play. 24/7 access to care is not bound by geography.

Whether your child is two hours up the road or four states away, they’ll have the same access to their physician that you have.

And with the rise of telehealth, they can even schedule a virtual appointment from their dorm room or off-campus apartment.

For your children, it’s access to the trusted medical care they need, when they need it.

For you as a parent, it can be a relief knowing that just because they are away at school, they still have a trustworthy resource they can rely on.

4. Concierge medicine provides peace of mind in the care your spouse, aging parents, or in-laws are receiving.

Health is complicated, and it gets more complicated as we age. Worrying about your spouse’s health or the complicated nature of aging parents and in-laws is a legitimate stressor in your life.

And you’re not alone. More than 53 million adults in the United States are unpaid caregivers, per the AARP, and almost 40% of family caregivers find their situation “highly stressful.” As we said, it’s hard.

And with the problems of the traditional primary care system, it can be even harder.

You want them to get the best care possible as quickly as possible, but it may not always feel like they’re getting either of those.

• Maybe your spouse is firmly against going to the doctor because it’s been a hassle for most of their life.
• Maybe your aging mother is managing numerous health issues and her current physician just doesn’t seem to have the time to treat her as well as you’d like.
• Maybe your elderly in-laws call regularly asking questions that would be better answered by their physician, but their physician won’t return their call.

Concierge medicine solves that for caretakers. It delivers the peace of mind of knowing that your loved ones will get the patient, personalized care they need when they need it.

Just knowing that they are in good hands can be a huge relief in your life.

Concierge Medicine: Making Health a Priority for You and Your Family

Concierge medicine enables you to make health a priority – for you, for your kids, for your spouse, and even for your aging parents or in-laws. It provides a better healthcare experience for your entire family, including yourself.

Sound like something that would make your life easier? Download our free Guide to Understanding Concierge Medicine.