A prescription for partnership: How a DO and an MD are running a concierge medicine practice together

Medicine is often described as both an art and a science, but for Richard Edwards, DO, and Monica Sher, MD, it is also a partnership—one that extends from their personal lives into their professional practice. This husband-wife duo are the physicians behind Elite Medical Concierge in Winter Park, Florida, a practice that reimagines the physician-patient relationship by placing time, access and individualized care at the forefront.

Elite Medical Concierge offers two membership tiers, starting at $500 per month. In-home visits are available for patients enrolled in the higher membership tier. Drs. Sher and Edwards see about 5-10 patients per day, while in-office primary care physicians see about 20 patients per day. The partnership between Drs. Edwards and Sher highlights how DOs and MDs can work side-by-side with a shared purpose and mutual respect.

In this edited Q&A, Drs. Edwards and Sher share more details about how concierge medicine works, why they chose this practice model and their advice for others who are interested in concierge medicine.

You two run Elite Medical Concierge in Winter Park, Florida, a model that many see as bringing physicians back to the head of the table. Tell us more about how the concierge model works.

Dr. Sher: Concierge medicine has been around for decades, but it’s often associated with the rich and famous, like celebrities who have doctors on call. However, many physicians have become frustrated with the constraints of traditional healthcare; 15-minute patient visits and seeing numerous patients daily, which makes providing comprehensive care difficult. Patients have also grown tired of this system. Doctors and patients have aligned to create a practice setting where physicians are able to spend quality time with patients. Patients don’t sit in the waiting room for extended periods, and they can build a real relationship with their doctor.

This system works on a monthly membership fee. While there is a cost to the patient, it comes with significant advantages, like essentially having their doctor on call. If a patient wakes up with an earache, they don’t need to miss work or arrange childcare. They can simply call their doctor, discuss their symptoms and get immediate medical advice.

We encourage patients to keep their commercial insurance, as labs, specialist visits and imaging are still covered through their insurance. The monthly fee covers direct access to physicians and comprehensive, personalized care. We have a physical location with several rooms for when our patients need to be seen in-person. From our clinic, we can administer injections, do various procedures and draw labs.

How do you blend the osteopathic philosophy of treating the whole person with the concierge model’s personalized care structure?

Dr. Edwards: The concierge model allows us to foster relationships with patients in a way that standard medical practice today does not. In traditional medicine, you’re limited to 15-minute slots where not all patient issues can be addressed, and the whole person is not always considered. The concierge model works exceptionally well with osteopathic principles of treating the patient holistically. By having more time with patients, we can address their issues comprehensively and truly consider the entirety of the person.

Dr. Sher: Working with an osteopathic physician is great; I’ve been picking up on the osteopathic principles and tenets and love how they easily blend into the practice we are developing. With the additional time we are allowed to spend, we can actually hear patients and identify areas in their life where changes can be made. We can offer suggestions that don’t always involve medication, focusing instead on holistic approaches that many patients prefer.

What advice would you give to physicians, residents and medical students who are interested in concierge medicine?

Dr. Edwards: Start early. Do your research. Figure out what your goals are and determine if they align with concierge medicine. If you are a medical student, do a rotation in concierge medicine to see firsthand how we care for patients. We have taken osteopathic medical students from Lincoln Memorial University-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine – Orange Park (LMU-DCOM-Orange Park) and Nova Southeastern University Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine (NSU-KPCOM).

Dr. Sher: Make sure you’re a people person, because you’ll spend significant time with patients. All of our patients become like family members; we know their names, their children’s names and their pets’ names. Not everyone is suited for this approach, so be certain it’s what you truly want.

For medical students, if you are planning a career in primary care concierge medicine, I would recommend specializing in family medicine or internal medicine. In concierge medicine, we are mainly working in the outpatient arena. In family medicine and internal medicine training, we receive a good mix of hospital and outpatient training. These experiences are invaluable, and our patients take notice. And if you decide to do this, my advice is to go into it without fear. Just dive in and be prepared to build deep, meaningful patient relationships.

Dr. Edwards: To add to what Monica said, if your primary desire is pathology, concierge medicine is not for you. We have practicing physicians reach out to us all the time asking us about the journey, tips and to go over ideas. Feel free to reach out to us; we would love to help other physicians who are interested in concierge medicine. Together, we can bring healthcare back to the physician and patient.

How did you meet, and what led each of you to choose your particular path in medicine?

Dr. Edwards: For me, I looked at both allopathic and osteopathic medicine in terms of my future career. What really attracted me to osteopathic medicine was the overall philosophy and how DOs looked at the body as a whole, as opposed to an individualized system. Osteopathic physicians are trained to look beyond just one body system and view the patient as a whole. That approach personally resonated with me, not only as an individual, but also as a future physician.

I did my training at the Georgia Campus-Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM-GA), where I trained for four years and received an absolutely incredible education. I completed my family medicine training at Ocala Regional Medical Center and I loved the program.

Dr. Sher: I graduated from an allopathic medical school and went on to an internal medicine residency. We both grew up in Florida and went away for medical school, but came back to Florida for our residencies. After our residency programs, we stayed in the state and both started working. We ended up meeting the old-fashioned way by being introduced to each other by our family members.

Richard’s mother was going to see her primary care doctor, a DO. This particular DO took osteopathic medical students for their clinical rotations. My brother (Alex Sher, DO, MSN, ARNP) was an osteopathic medical student working with that physician at the time. My brother is a schmoozer; he’s in his psychiatry residency now, but when he went in to see his patient, who happened to be Richard’s mother, those two hit it off. They started talking about how they both lived in South Florida and before you know it, the physician, osteopathic medical student and Richard’s mom all discovered that she had a single son and Alex (my brother) had a single sister. The rest is history. So that’s how our DO-MD relationship started.

What do you envision for the future of personalized medicine? Is concierge medicine onto something with a model that is driven by bringing back the power and importance of the physician-patient relationship? How do you see DOs and MDs shaping that space together?

Dr. Edwards: Both physicians and patients have witnessed how medicine has changed over the years, becoming increasingly depersonalized. In traditional healthcare, patients often feel like they’re just another number, like taking a ticket at a deli counter. Concierge medicine offers personalized care in which patients can establish a genuine relationship with their physician. By fostering this connection, we can achieve better health outcomes and, ultimately, provide better overall medical care.

Patients want to be heard and understood, not just processed through a system. This model allows us to return to a more human-centered approach to healthcare, where the physician-patient relationship is paramount. The future of medicine isn’t about treating symptoms, but about understanding the whole person: their lifestyle, their challenges, their goals. DOs and MDs can work together to provide care that is evidence-based, holistic and patient-centered.

Dr. Sher: DOs and MDs together have an obligation to improve healthcare. We might be one of the few DO-MD couples pioneering this approach. Maybe we should trademark the DO-MD, husband-wife concierge concept!

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