While most concierge medical practices maintain a very high patient retention average of approximately 92% -94%, I think it's important to tell you about what I hear each week from patients reading our stories, educational articles and people across the US looking for doctors.

When patients inside concierge medical programs were asked to weigh-in on why they chose concierge medical care versus continue to see their traditional managed care / insurance primary care physician, they responded by saying:

• 34% said price savings was the main reason they chose concierge medical care

• 17% said Medicare acceptance / participation was the main reason they chose concierge medicine

• 6% said more time with my doctor was the main reason they chose concierge medical care

• 29% said insurance compatibility was the main reason they chose concierge medical care

• 6% said less office staff to deal with was the main reason they chose concierge medical care

• 2% said limited / no waiting was the main reason they chose concierge medical care

The takeaway here is that while price is important, it's the additional selling features that help build your brand and make you more attractive to patients. The second takeaway here and important to note is that a lot of concierge medicine and direct primary care practices focus on limited or no waiting at their office. While this is a nice feature of the practice, it was the least important aspect as to why patients choose concierge care for them and their family.

Additionally, patient retention among concierge medicine and direct primary care doctors offices remains at 7 to 9 years, two years longer than traditional, insurance based primary care practices . T his number is expected to increase as more time passes and more data becomes available about this relatively young, boutique industry.

Currently there are four states that have a huge lead in the amount of active concierge physicians in practice and consumers seeking their care. Florida, California, Pennsylvania and Virginia each have a significant number of people (most over age 50) seeking out concierge and direct primary care doctors and there is, fortunately, a sizeable number of concierge physicians to serve them.

There are approximately 5,000 or more concierge doctors nationwide. I believe the growth rate will be high in the coming years – possibly higher than 30 percent due to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Although this is my professional opinion, I have certainly seen an increase in physician interest to support it in recent months at the organizations I work with and for in this field.

Last, inside concierge medicine and direct primary care business models, a physician is free to create transparent pricing structures that meet their local demographic demands without the intrusion from insurance and thus avoiding the provision of "hamster healthcare," which in today's healthcare marketplace only allows doctors to spend 6 to 12 minutes with their patients.

Regardless of how you describe it or the term you associate with concierge medicine, the public's perception of these healthcare delivery models is changing for the better.