How are you different from a regular practice?

While most practices that claim to be innovative have tried to make marginal improvements on the current model of care, we started from scratch to design our practice. So almost everything is different- the physical design of our office, which is more open and patient friendly, our focus on health as well as illness, your ability to communicate with us directly by phone or email, the ability to access all of your own medical record 24/7, robust educational programs, our use of the most cutting edge information technology, your ability to help us improve our process, and much more. But the real difference is that we work for you, period, and strive always to make our service better.

How long does it typically take to get an appointment?

We always guarantee you will be able to come in to see us either the same business day or the next. One of our doctors is always reachable by phone 24/7, and will see you even in the evening or on weekends if it is necessary. We believe strongly you ought never to have to go to an emergency room unless you truly need it.

Where will I get lab tests, x-rays, and other diagnostic services?

We can draw samples for almost all lab tests right in our office, and perform EKGs and some other basic diagnostic testing as well in-house. We will work with you individually to find the most convenient location to obtain radiology and other tests, either near our office, your home, or workplace.

What hospitals do you admit your patients to?

Our doctors are on staff at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Womens Hospital, both of which have consistently ranked in the top 10 of hospitals in the country.

What are your hours?

Our office is generally staffed from 8am till 5 pm from Monday to Friday. We regularly see patients till 7pm on Tuesdays, and will gladly work with you to see you at other times as well if necessary.

What if I have a problem at night or on the weekends?

During the week you can always contact your own doctor; on weekends one of our doctors covers for the whole practice. Unlike most other practices, we allow you to directly reach your doctor without putting in place the usual barriers or hurdles.

Can I continue to see my current specialists?

Yes you may. Because we are an independent practice, we can refer you to whomever you and we think is most appropriate for your care. Through our Massachusetts General and Brigham and Womens affiliations, we can provide you with access to some of the best specialists in the world.

What is your opinion of alternative and complementary medicine?

While we do not deliver alternative or complementary care ourselves in our office, we believe many such modalities can be helpful for many patients in the right situations. We work actively with a number of complementary practitioners and are happy to refer you if necessary.

Are you a concierge practice?

If by this you mean do we offer better service and access than traditional practices, the answer is yes. We are very different, however, than almost all the typical concierge practices across the country, where established doctors with a panel of rich patients charge a small number of them $2000-$20000 per year to get better access and spa-like amenities. Our goal is to create a radically different model of care that eventually will be accessible to everyone and will be widely applicable. We focus not just on the service aspects (which we certainly do), but also on providing the best clinical care and making you healthier. We leverage the most advanced information technology and fundamentally have reinvented our processes to be able to do this at a price which is a fraction of what concierge practices charge.

Health care is expensive enough already – how can charging more money for your services help fix the system?

We believe that if you do primary care right, as we are trying to do- meaning better preventive care, empowering and educating patients, improving the relationship, etc, that we actually will save overall health care costs, making health care cheaper, and not more expensive. Indeed we would argue that totally reengineering how we deliver care is the only way we can truly make healthcare affordable. In the short run, however, we need to be able to fund our innovation, and we need to pay for many services that health plans will not reimburse us for, and thus we need to charge a membership fee. We are actively tracking our performance in terms of costs, satisfaction and outcomes, and hope someday to be able to prove to payers that they ought to change how they pay for care.

How can other medical practices or health care systems learn from your efforts?

We are now staring to work with progressive practices and health systems to learn from our experience and begin to redesign how they deliver ambulatory care to their patients. See here for a description of some of our current work. Please give us a call to learn how we might work together to revolutionize the way we deliver care.

How can an employer, union, or health plan work with you to provide this sort of innovative care for its employees/members?

We are also beginning to work with employers and health plans to provide our services as a way of improving quality, increasing productivity, and reducing overall health care spending. See here for some of our current work, and please call us to learn more about how we might work together.

How can I help build the practice and support your efforts to revolutionize the way we deliver care?

There are many ways you can help us build this exciting new practice. You can join as a member, give us suggestions how we can improve, give a gift membership, support us financially, tell friends coworkers and family about us, or have us come give a talk in your workplace.

Why should I join this practice?

You should join because your health is important, and you deserve better care and better service. You should join to be able to play a more active role in your health, to maximize your health as well as best managing any medical conditions, to get better care for yourself and your family, and to help revolutionize the health care system for everyone.

For whom is this practice most appropriate?

We believe this practice is appropriate for anyone who takes their health seriously. We have patients ranging from teenagers to their 70s, both healthy and sick, with varying levels of technology saavy, education and income.

What if I am not familiar with computers or the Internet?

Although some of our innovative services are designed to be delivered electronically (such as secure access to your medical records, information prescriptions, and secure email communications) we also provide alternative delivery mechanisms for all these, such as a paper copy of your medical record, printed articles relevant to your issues, and direct phone access to your doctor. We are also happy to spend the time to teach you how to use these powerful electronic tools, and some of our patients have found this to be an opportunity to learn how to use a computer for these purposes. Some of our patients however, are content with using paper, pen, and telephone and they all feel they have been well served by our practice.

How can I learn more?

You can learn more by exploring this website, by attending one our monthly open houses (link), by calling us at 781-643-6080, sending us an email (link) with your questions, or by making arrangements to come in for a free consultation to meet our doctors, visit our office, and see if our practice is right for you.

How do I join?

You can simply give us a call (781-643-6080) or email us at info@renhealth.net to get started.

Can I join the practice if I do not live in the Boston area?

Absolutely. We have many members who travel a lot, and find our electronic communication, online medical record, and other innovative features fit their needs much better than traditional practices. We do require an initial face to face visit where we can get to know you, conduct and exam, and begin a relationship. We also, of course, cannot provide in-person access if you are out of town.

Can I give a membership as a gift?

We encourage gift memberships for a family member, friend, community member, church leader, etc. and provide them for the reduced price of $430. Gift memberships are a valuable way of expressing your care for someone, and we treat those gifts very personally – working with you to customize the announcement and serve the specific needs of your recipient.

Can I keep my current primary care physician but still join your practice?

Some of our members wish to take advantage of our innovative services but for personal reasons also wish to maintain a relationship with their current primary care physician. We are happy to work in this way if it is mutually agreeable.

What insurance plans do you accept?

We accept most major insurance plans for coverage of your visits and lab tests, and can serve as your primary care physician if you are in an HMO plan; see here for a current list. (link) Unfortunately the only major plan we cannot accept at this time is Harvard Pilgrim HMO, as they refuse to contract with us. Read more about this here.

What if I am uninsured?

We welcome patients who do not have health insurance. We will simply bill you a reasonable fee for each visit, and you will be responsible for the cost of your lab tests directly.

Does insurance cover the membership fee?

Insurance does not cover our membership fee, which covers the costs of our innovation as well as the costs of the services we deliver which are not covered by insurance. See below for more about our membership fee.

Why do you charge a membership fee?

Unfortunately health insurance companies will not pay us for many of the services we believe are the right thing to deliver, and will not subsidize the costs of our innovation. We decided the best way to ensure our practice met your needs and was accountable to you was to get our funding from our patients. Thus we work for you. Ask yourself who your current doctor really works for (i.e. who in the end signs their check? The insurance company).

What if I realize after joining this is not the right practice for me?

We offer an unconditional guarantee you will be delighted with your experience with Renaissance Health. If at any time and for any reason you are not satisfied, we will work hard to fix the problem, but if that does not work, we will refund the pro-rated amount of your membership remaining, help you find another doctor, and transfer to them any medical records we may have for you.

What if I move to a different city midway through the year?

Some patients continue their relationship with us even after moving, taking advantage of our electronic communication and online services. If you wish, however, we will refund a pro-rated amount of your membership remaining and transfer your records to your next physician.

Can I pay my membership fee out of my flex spending/medical savings account?

In general you can pay for our membership with pretax money out of a flex spending or medical savings account. You should check with your own tax advisor to make sure this applies to your own particular situation.

Do you offer any discounts?

We offer discounted memberships for gift memberships, and for additional memberships within the same family. In addition we periodically will offer promotional discounts.

Will my employer pay for some or all of my membership fee?

That of course is between you and your employer. While traditionally employers have not paid for such expenses, some are willing to pay for some or all of our fee as a way to provide an additional employee benefit and as a way to potentially control their overall health care spending. We would be happy to speak to you employer about our practice and about the benefits of providing our services to their employees.