Recognition, Twenty-Two Years in the Making

Reflections from Private Medical on Being Featured in the New England Journal of Medicine

Twenty-two years ago, Private Medical set out to build a kind of medicine that didn’t yet have a name.

From the beginning, our goal was to restore the integrity and intimacy of the physician–patient relationship — to create a system where doctors could take full responsibility for the people in their care, be available when it mattered most, and be curious and open to innovation.

People often dismissed that ambition as elitist, indulgent, and even naive at the time. The phrase “concierge medicine” never captured what we were actually doing: building a practice grounded in responsibility, depth, and humanity.

So when The New England Journal of Medicine — the most respected voice in clinical thought — published a feature recognizing Private Medical as a model for what’s possible when physicians are given time and trust, it felt like more than validation. It marked a turning point: medicine itself acknowledging what truly matters.

A Reminder of What Medicine Can Be

In one striking moment from the NEJM feature, the author, Dr. Lisa Rosenbaum, called a Private Medical physician for help when a bystander experienced a medical emergency and couldn’t reach any of her doctors. What followed became a powerful illustration of what it means to truly show up for someone in need.

Part of me felt like a medical student again, presenting a case to my attending and watching him waltz in and get a completely different story. But mostly I felt hope mixed with nostalgia — a feeling that often overwhelms me when I observe any physician who clearly still relishes the chance to take care of someone.

“That person is an actual doctor,” I think in these moments. “Maybe medicine will be OK.”

NEJM, “The Concierge Cure”

Taking Responsibility

The NEJM article identifies what sets Private Medical apart: our physicians take full responsibility for every aspect of our members’ care. This is the foundation of our model.

Eric Swagel, who practiced primary care at the University of California San Francisco before joining Private Medical, described the clash of values he experienced as a PCP at an academic medical center. “The rule that dominated,” he explained, “was that the more effective you were, the more willing to take personal responsibility, the more of other people’s work you did.” If traditional models tend to punish dedicated doctors, concierge practices do the opposite. Patients pay you to shepherd their care, colleagues respect this sense of ownership, and the “system,” by markedly reducing panel sizes, enables it. 

This “node” of personal responsibility, Swagel emphasized, is “the sine qua non of our care.”

NEJM, “The Concierge Cure”

When doctors lead with trust, teams supporting them share their accountability, and systems back them to make it possible, everything changes — for patients, for outcomes, for meaning.

A National Community of Physicians

What began as a single practice in San Francisco has grown into a national team of more than 30 physicians across six offices, supported by over 150 employees and connected to a 4,000-strong global network of specialists and collaborators.

In each region — the Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York, and Miami— our teams have built practices rooted in integrity, curiosity, and deep human connection.

Every physician and staff member at Private Medical contributes to this culture. Our nurses, administrators, and operations teams make it possible for doctors to focus on what matters most: caring deeply, thinking clearly, and following through completely. This acknowledgment in The New England Journal of Medicine belongs to all of them.

Designing for Outcomes That Matter

The article notes that concierge medicine’s outcomes are still being studied — but at Private Medical, we’ve seen the results firsthand. Doctors detect cancers at earlier, more treatable stages.Preventive care is proactive and complete. We monitor cardiovascular risk, update vaccines, and follow through as standard.

Small panels, engaged patients, and the time to think and act create a precision that’s rare in traditional systems. The result is care that’s not only more humane, but also more effective — and, ultimately, more sustainable.