Healthcare Subscription services are becoming increasingly popular since they allow patients access to primary care, the convenience of telehealth, and specialist consultants. Depending on the patient’s needs, a transparent fixed fee covers these to the hospital or the healthcare provider.

At my MD Select, we want you to live your best, healthiest life. Our strategically placed clinics throughout East Texas give you direct access to your local physician as well as any specialty services in any location.

In this article, we’ll explore how subscription services make for better patient care.

What are Healthcare Subscription Services?

In terms of healthcare subscription services, healthcare involves paying a fixed monthly, quarterly, or annual fee. These payments then cover most, if not all, medical services rendered by the healthcare provider.

Depending on the subscription and the direct care physician involved, there may be a limit to the number of visits per month, which puts a stop to patients taking advantage of the system and visiting the doctor for every little sniffle.

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Benefits of Healthcare Subscription Services

Several pros put healthcare subscription services ahead of healthcare plans for those who do not have serious health conditions.

More Time Allocated to Patients

Since they have so many patients to see, primary care physicians in the traditional system often keep patients waiting for lengthy periods in their waiting rooms and have long scheduling delays, whereas a direct care physician (who falls under the umbrella of subscription-based healthcare) has fewer patients to attend to, and so can afford their patients more time and diligent care. Since they’re not as stretched for time, they’re usually more open to receiving and answering calls promptly.

Patient Care is Prioritized

Under the fee-for-service model, doctors’ payments depend on delivering services to patients, so they tend to render as many services as possible to as many patients as they can see. Patients generally spend a shorter period of, say, 15 minutes with the doctor.

Since direct care providers in subscription-based healthcare receive regular payments and do not have to see a specific number of patients to meet their income requirements, these healthcare providers can concentrate more attention on the patient’s health needs.

Preventive Care Gets More Attention

Taking action to head off a health problem in the past is preferable to treating the patient once they have fallen ill. Still, most people in the traditional system are reluctant to spend money to detect a medical problem that may not even exist.

Yet preventive care is important, and subscription-based healthcare recognizes this. This could mean the difference between your being in the treatable beginning stages of a health scare or having, say, a severe form of end-stage cancer. Preventive care measures, which direct care providers encourage, include regular check-ups, flu shots and vaccinations, colonoscopies, screening for prostate cancer, pap smears, and mammograms.

Referrals are Easier to Access

Having a close doctor-patient relationship is what subscription-based care is about. This relationship makes it more likely that a direct care provider would be able to diagnose a serious illness necessitating a referral to a specialist. Insurance companies don’t generally cover specialists without a referral, so it is reassuring to know a specialist referral is easier to access through a direct care provider.

Some may not be free services, but check-ups and monitoring should be covered. Insurance providers are also likely to pay for these services if your primary care physician is in-network.

Opting Out is Simple

If you feel the direct care provider is not for you, it is easy enough to opt out. This means the stakes are higher for direct care providers and helps ensure they are on the ball and render good quality care to their patients.

Cost-effectiveness is Key

Monthly subscription-based healthcare fees are around USD$75-$100. (Fees tend to go up according to age.) These fees include routine monitoring, regular check-ups, consultations, tests, and comprehensive care. Urgent care and specialized services are not necessarily included, but savings can be set aside to pay for these if needed. The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that we pay, on average, $7470 for health insurance every year. This does not include prescriptions, co-pays, and the cost of your deductible.

Differences between Healthcare Insurance & Healthcare Subscription Services

Apart from the differences noted above, where group insurance is concerned, the claims history and general health of the workforce and their dependents play a role in cost. Still, the chief expense of services set by health insurance providers such as Humana, Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and UnitedHealthcare reflects the prices which healthcare providers charge for their services since the insurers’ earnings or medical loss ratio are regulated in terms of the Affordable Care Act.

Whereas health insurance tends to cover more serious issues like car accidents and major medical issues that require intensive or specialized treatment, monthly subscription healthcare services usually cover less dramatic medical issues as outlined above. Insurance coverage is often lacking in subscription-based payment healthcare services.

Direct care provider patients would be well advised to have a medical subscription and invest in a health savings account or high-deductible health plan. The subscription-based healthcare model accommodates those with good health who suffer only minor health complaints.

Patients whose health is poor and may face major health problems are not advised to consider the subscription-based healthcare model since their more complex issues are unlikely to be covered.

Healthcare Subscription Service Available in Nacogdoches, Longview, Lufkin, and Jacksonville Texas

MyMD Select’s services are focused on holistically caring for patients, considering the patient’s needs, and providing comprehensive health care for all ages. This caring approach reduces the need for medication and respects patients’ need for input into their healing.

Our doctors take the time to get to know their patients and aim to deal with the root of a disease to resolve chronic conditions instead of just treating the symptoms, as is often the case in mainstream medicine.

To learn more about how MyMD Select’s subscription services work, contact any of our offices or fill in the form online today.