A medical concierge finds and organizes medical care for you, but it is neither your doctor nor your insurer.

The term sits close to two others: concierge medicine, which is a doctor’s practice paid by membership, and the lifestyle concierge, which arranges travel, events and rare goods. This guide explains what a medical concierge does, how it differs from insurance and from a lifestyle concierge, how the membership model works, who uses it and what the evidence says.

What a medical concierge does

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes the service from the patient’s side: people who travel for treatment often use private companies or medical concierge services to identify healthcare professionals or clinics. A peer-reviewed qualitative study of 12 facilitators from 10 Canadian companies found that they may book travel and accommodation and link the patient with a hospital abroad, and that they see their role as advocacy and information, limited by their legal liability. The authors also saw a need for more regulation of the industry.

The American Medical Association has set out principles for anyone who facilitates medical care abroad, and they read like a checklist for any medical concierge. Patients should only be referred to institutions that have been accredited, for example by Joint Commission International. Local follow-up care should be coordinated before travel, and medical records should be transferred in line with privacy rules.

Concierge medicine is something else

Concierge medicine, also called retainer medicine, is a model for running a doctor’s practice. The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) describes concierge care as an arrangement in which physicians charge their patients a membership fee in return for enhanced services or amenities. The American College of Physicians groups it with practices that contract directly with patients to pay out of pocket for some or all services, from cash-only practices to direct primary care.

The model is growing. A 2025 study in Health Affairs counted 3,036 concierge and direct primary care practices in the United States in 2023, up from 1,658 in 2018, an increase of 83.1 percent. A medical concierge in the sense of this guide is not a practice. It organizes access to doctors and clinics, often across borders.

How it differs from insurance

Insurance pays for care under the terms of a contract. A medical concierge organizes care and does not pay for it. For concierge medicine, professional and legal rules keep the two apart. The AMA requires physicians with retainer contracts to clearly distinguish charges for special services or amenities from medical services that the patient’s insurance reimburses. Florida law states that a direct health care agreement does not constitute insurance. And for Medicare patients, the GAO reports that a concierge membership fee must not result in charges for services Medicare already pays for.

Most concierge practices still work with insurers. About three-quarters of the physicians surveyed by the GAO billed patients’ health insurance for covered services, and the Health Affairs authors describe concierge practices as continuing to bill insurance, while direct primary care works entirely outside it. For procedures abroad, the CDC notes, costs are usually paid out of pocket. A medical concierge membership therefore sits next to health insurance, not in its place.

How it differs from a lifestyle concierge

We found no official definition that separates the two, so the clearest way to tell them apart is by what each arranges. A lifestyle concierge arranges travel, events and goods. A medical concierge arranges doctors, clinics, examinations, second opinions and, in an emergency, transport under medical supervision, and its work involves medical records and the decisions of the physicians who treat you.

Within the Veltracon group, the line runs between two brands. Veltracon Lifestyle, at veltraconlifestyle.com, offers services from bespoke travel planning to sourcing rare luxury products and seats at sold-out events. Veltracon Medical is the medical membership. The two meet in the membership: the Holistic and Longevity memberships include priority access to the Veltracon Lifestyle team, so the travel and the stay around a medical appointment can be arranged within the same group.

The membership model

Concierge practices are paid by membership, and Veltracon Medical is a membership too: the membership pays for access and coordination, while the care itself is charged by the doctor or clinic. Published fee data for concierge practices are old, and they are not Veltracon Medical’s fees. The GAO’s survey of concierge physicians, from 2004, found membership fees from USD 60 to USD 15,000 a year.

What the fee bought, in that survey, was mostly time and access. The features physicians reported most often were same- or next-day appointments for non-urgent care, 24-hour telephone access and periodic preventive examinations, and the concierge physicians surveyed cared for an average of 491 patients, against 2,716 before they converted their practice. A national survey found retainer physicians far more likely to offer house calls (63 percent against 26 percent) and 24-hour direct access (91 percent against 40 percent).

Who uses it

In 2004, the GAO found concierge care practiced by a small number of physicians, mainly on the US East and West Coasts, and the Health Affairs authors note that membership fees may target higher-income patients seeking enhanced services. The American College of Physicians has raised the concern that such practices may cause access problems for patients who cannot afford them.

Veltracon Medical describes its members as people who live and work in more than one country and want one medical address rather than a new doctor in each, and as families who want the same access for a child at school in Switzerland and a parent in Dubai. Its clients range, in its own words, from industry captains to royal families and elite athletes.

What the evidence says

Patients report more satisfaction with how concierge care is organized. In a survey at one academic center, concierge patients rated access, coordination and office staff better than general medicine patients of the same doctors, while the quality of the doctor-patient interaction did not differ significantly. A 2025 systematic review found only limited evidence that concierge medicine improves clinical outcomes.

The AMA’s Code of Medical Ethics draws the line for physicians: retainer practices must take care not to imply that more or better medical services will be provided. That is the right expectation for any medical concierge as well: access and coordination, not a promise of better medical outcomes.

Questions to ask before you join

  • Is it insurance? If not, what does the membership pay for, and what is charged by doctors, clinics and transport providers?
  • Which doctors and clinics does it work with, and how are they selected and accredited?
  • Who answers at night and on weekends, and in which languages?
  • In an emergency abroad, who assesses the situation, who organizes the transport and who briefs the receiving hospital?
  • How are your medical records kept and passed on?

Where Veltracon Medical stands

Veltracon Medical is a medical membership from Veltracon Lifestyle AG in Zug, with offices in Düsseldorf and Dubai. It is not a healthcare provider and not an insurance company: it gives members access to a network of medical professionals and coordinates their care, and the doctors and clinics in the network operate independently. Every membership includes the 24/7 medical hotline with medical coordinators, emergency doctors, evacuation teams and medical repatriation. The Holistic and Longevity memberships add Swiss private medical care, a global network of medical specialists, a global second opinion network, telemedicine with Swiss and German doctors and bespoke travel risk management. Longevity adds an annual medical check-up, a health and longevity strategy, expert home consultations and the management of your medical history.

The membership pays for the coordination and the access. Consultations, examinations, transport and treatment that follow a virtual assessment or a service proposal are not included and are charged by the provider, and membership does not replace comprehensive health insurance. Our pages on concierge medicine and the private doctor service describe how a case runs, and our sister company Switzerland Clinics presents the clinics we work with in Switzerland. When a serious diagnosis needs checking, our guide to the cancer second opinion explains the process. Contact us to discuss what you and your family need.

About this article

This guide draws on US government reports, professional bodies and peer-reviewed studies; all sources were accessed in November 2026. Fee figures are those of the studies, not prices of Veltracon Medical, and most published data comes from the United States. It is general information, not medical, legal or financial advice.

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