SteadyMD
 

When I moved here to Florida 9 years ago it took me a while and a couple false starts to find a doctor I liked but was finally happy with the one I found, and I liked her PA too. But I’ve just recently learned that she is gone and has left the practice! I’m pretty bummed. So I’ve been pondering what to do.

And since I hate going to a doctor’s office anyway I’ve been toying with the idea of a telehealth concierge practice. One that keeps coming up as I move around the web is SteadyMD. A good overview can be found here:
https://www.innerbody.com/steadymd-review

I like that you can select a doctor based on various preferential criteria, like one who is keto friendly. But could I find a doctor who supports keto, IF, obesity and thyroid issues, etc?

I searched the forums to see if anyone here had some experience with them but got zero hits.

I only saw one negative in reviews which wouldn’t apply to me much anyway. Someone complained that they advertise a large choice of doctors who will fit your needs, and this person was offered only two doctors total and neither seemed quite right.

Well it turned out the person lived in Montana or someplace like that. SteadyMD replied that while they are virtual the doctor must still be licensed to practice in the state where the patient resides, and as they are growing they have concentrated on the states with the largest populations, specifically mentioning NY, CA, TX and FL. But hope to expand more doctors to other states. But since I live in FL I should have choices.

Of course it costs $99/month, not covered by insurance, but that gets you unlimited access to your doctor via phone, text, and video chat as required. I can afford it if I decide to go with it. Lots of thinking to do. Anyone else looked into something like this?

Bummer when your doctor moves. We only looked at local concierge practices so we could have annual office check-ups, and someone we knew to ease entry for hospitals. So wouldn’t you still need to find a local doctor? And if you are hospitalized, you would be dealing with the "Hospitalist" anyway..and this teledoc? Obviously I still don’t get what services each type of doctor provides.

One we checked was a local doctor part of a national chain called MDVIP. If you want to get the type of doctor for your needs, Maybe reversing the search order? If you could end up looking like the women who have partnered with SteadyMD ;) maybe it is worth giving up a local doctor.

One friend with concierge was not happy that with covid, all in office visits were ended. Understandable, but that is why he paid extra for concierge. In this area, the concierge doctors were on the older side, seeing this structure as offering them less work with more income. The patient numbers are capped, with steady income but without the insurance paperwork and group practice hassles. A flight path to retirement. SteadyMD seems pitched to a younger audience who can do without any office visits, but I couldn’t find the list of doctors...do you have to phone to get that?

We decided to stay with regular pay doctors. Each doctor in Duke's network of Primary Care offices and specialists has a written and video biography, so it is simple to find a good match by computer, and importantly, if they are open to new Medicare patients. Although I haven’t had a regular GP check-up in 5 years, other specialist visits required a doctor to put this hands on me in person. How do all the athletes Featured have injuries repaired by phone? Now that more regular doctors have added telehealth, would the benefit of a national concierge model be less? I really don’t know, let us know what decide.

I am hesitant to call my doctors office
The last time I saw her she was 6-months pregnant and it was before CO ViD
I doubt she will be available even after our lock downs end.

Are you on Medicare? If so, what Medicare Advantage Plans are available in your city?

When I checked the diet doctor map for locating LC practitioners, there were several in Florida. https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/doctors

My MedicareAdvantagePlan costs me $0 per month and $0 co-pay for office visits. $0 for labs and x-rays and scans, too. Florida has so many retirees, the rates should be low there as well.

It's tough finding the right doctor.

This is kind of a tangent, but I love the idea of it: Doctors that are cash-only. I haven't had one close enough to me to check them out, but i've saved the link for years and keep checking.
https://aaps.wufoo.com/reports/m5p6z0/

As far as SteadyMD, i have looked into it, but it didnt seem worth the money for me. I'm blanking out on the other company that I found and considered. I"ll edit & update if I can remember it. That said, I'm very into the idea of a functional medicine doctor. I had an appointment with one in March, literally the week we went into lockdown and had to cancel it. They're also worth looking into if you want someone who focuses on a holistic approach to health. They're much more educated and open to diet. And since most don't seem to take insurance, they are a lot more open to stepping outside the lines to figure things out.

Sorry, I know you like your plan but I definitely don’t want a Medicare Advantage plan. I’m happy with the plan I have. I just want a doctor that I can see remotely who accepts my lifestyle.

Yeah, SteadyMD offers a functional medicine plan, but costs twice as much as the regular plan so didn’t seem worth it to me at this point. The regular plan looks like something I could budget if there was a doctor who supported my lifestyle. No LC doctors around here that I know of and I don’t want to go to a physical doctors office anywayb😉

We just can't afford the 20% each bill would cost us.

Has SteadyMD given you a list of all the doctors in Florida available to you now so you can look for one with the specialties you want?

The doctors are located all over the country, no telling where they are. SteadyMD seems to have a lot of great reviews but was curious about others' experience. I did look at MDVIP too but nothing really applicable to me. Only one doctor reasonably near (5 miles away) but based on his education, etc, he has to be in his 70s so who knows when he might retire. The others in the network were all over 20 miles away through nasty traffic and highways and of those three only one sounded like she might be a possible fit and she's not taking new patients anyway. All of them say they are interested in preventive med and nutrition but of course no clue what that means. It could mean low fat vegan!

I liked with SteadyMD you can find a doctor aligned with your lifetstyle, and if you need to be seen by someone local they help arrange that too. And I love that the sessions are virtual and not in person, and have 24/7 access.

I thought you would have to pick a doctor licensed in the State of Florida. I could not find the list of doctors on their website...how many will you be offered and can you read their bios before you sign up for the service? I'd be curious who is on their list for N.C.

Yes the doctor has to be licensed in Florida but doesn’t have to live here. Most of their doctors are licensed in multiple states regardless of where they live. Supposedly you get a choice of up to 4 doctors depending on various factors, and I believe you get to review their bios. I haven’t found a list of their doctors either.