What pushes a doctor to go this route, often called concierge medicine? And how hard is it to make a living? As to why doctors decide to switch to a concierge practice, the answer is almost always frustration. "About four years ago, one insurance company was driving me crazy saying I had to fax documents to show I had done a visit," said Stanford Owen, an internal medical doctor in Gulfport, Miss. "At 2 a.m., I woke up and said, 'This is it.'" Dr. Owen stopped accepting all insurance and now charges his 1,000 patients $38 a month. Dr. Owen, who once had three nurses and 10 examining rooms, said it was now just him and a receptionist. At the other end of the spectrum is David Edelson, who runs a practice with five doctors and a full fitness center.
