Thinking about joining the Cirrus Medical Network (CirrusMED) as a provider but still have questions? Hopefully we can answer some of those questions below.
What’s in it for me?
If you are already involved in concierge or cash-only medicine, then you understand the benefits of this model of care. CirrusMED just takes it into the cloud (online) like just about everything else these days. Primary care physicians (PCP’s) are a heterogeneous bunch, all with different professional goals, backgrounds, and practice styles.
Perhaps, you are starting a family and would like to spend more time with your children, yet don’t want to entirely give up clinical medicine? Or, maybe you are later in your career and looking to transition out of the office. Or, you prefer the flexibility of practicing from the comfort of your home? Maybe you want to travel around the world? As long as you have access to the internet, you may find Online concierge medicine as the perfect solution!
Cirrus Medical Network was started by a fellow primary care doctor who has worked in both a government system and the private sector. CirrusMED values what primary care offers. PCP's deserve to be paid a whole lot more than they do now. Rather than letting the government, a hospital system, or an insurance company influence your reimbursement, we strongly feel that PCP's need to take charge and regain autonomy of care.
There are two ways to do this: Start or join a direct pay/concierge practice which requires the overhead of typical small business, or nearly eliminate the overhead and move your practice into the cloud. The freedom to practice from just about anywhere with Cirrus Medical Network is just one of the benefits. In addition, one might add an online concierge practice to their current practice, use it as a transition out of the daily in office grind, or practice solely as a virtual primary care physician. A whole lot of options, and a whole lot of flexibility. Cirrus Medical Network believes in fair reimbursement for affiliated physicians. With 75% of member fees going directly to the physician and rising to 80% after 1 year, you can rest assured that you will be compensated fairly. The remaining 10-15% goes to the administration of CirrusMED, marketing of your practice, and recruitment of patients, all so that you will succeed in this model of care.
What do I need to do to start with Cirrus Medical Network?
You will need to review the Physician Affiliate Agreement which will be emailed to you after signing up. It doesn’t cost you a dime to start up. You will need to complete some training on our EHR and submit your credentials before going live.
Generally, the following are the minimum requirements for Physician affiliates of Cirrus Medical Network(CirrusMED):
- State Medical License (MD or DO)
- State Board of Pharmacy
- DEA #
- Board Certification
- Not subject to any disciplinary actions in last 10 years by the respective State Board or any hospital systems
- No history of substance abuse.
- A computer (PC or Mac), webcam, and microphone
- A smart phone is very helpful but not mandatory
How does it work?
After you establish yourself as a Cirrus Medical Network physician, your profile will be listed for potential patients to review. Once a prospective patient chooses you as their PCP, you will be notified by email. The new member will be sent a Welcome Kit (if applicable), and serial emails welcoming them to the network. The new member will be asked to schedule a virtual visit via webcam, chat, or email for a “get to know you visit” and establish care. Doctors may check their schedule through their back office, or through the electronic health record (EHR).
Once you have established care with a patient, you may manage their care just as if you would with a brick and mortar office.For example, a 55 year old male with a history of hypertension and hyperlipidemia establishes care with you. At the "establish care" virtual visit, you obtain vitals (using the Welcome Telemedicine Kit), additional pertinent history, create a problem list, and then provide a disposition. In this case, one might want to order baseline labs, provide some patient education, and set-up a follow-up in 4-6 months. Lab results will be available via the patient portal for patients to see and review your notes.
Members in the Standard PCP plans may communicate with you via a patient portal (secure email), live chat, or video conferencing.
Members enrolled in the VIP PCP plans will be able to communicate with you via the patient portal, live chat, video conferencing, or directly via cell phone/text. Yes, you must be willing to allow these members this kind of access.
Most well established concierge practices include this perk, and if you ask most of them, the calls are very limited and not very intrusive. Remember, you are getting paid for this VIP access to care.
Limiting your online concierge practice to no more the 400 patients will allow you to provide quality care and not jeopardize your personal/free time.
Remember, as a Cirrus Medical Network affiliate, you are not employed by Cirrus Medical Network, LLC. Rather, you work as an independent affiliate, similar to a contractor. You will receive a 1099 for tax purposes each year. You will have a “back office” to check on your patient list, accounts receivable, etc.
How do I get paid?
What about Schedule II and controlled medications?
Due to the inherent difficulties of prescribing Schedule II and controlled medications, Cirrus Medical Network advises against the prescribing of these medications. See our prescription policy.
Is telemedicine risky?
Do I need malpractice insurance?
If you are adding a Cirrus Medical Network practice to your existing traditional practice, it is very likely that you will be covered. Nonetheless, we advise checking with your current malpractice provider.
If you desire malpractice coverage for your online concierge practice, you are free to shop around. We will provide you a list of telemedicine liability insurance carriers and give you the option to use our carrier. For the record, lawsuits involving telemedicine are nearly non-existent.
I have an established primary care practice and I would like to continue seeing patients in the office. Is this feasible as a Cirrus Medical Network affiliate physician?
Lastly, if you would like to add online concierge services to your practice as a “private label” service, please contact our administrator here for details. We can custom design your site and set-up your membership and payment gateways.
How secure is Cirrus Medical Network?
Explore Online Concierge Medicine
We are looking for board certified Primary Care Physicians (MD/DO’s) to join Cirrus Medical Network.
- Add significant monthly income as you build a subscription-based virtual practice
- Maintain skills and patient engagement
- Avoid burnout typically seen in the office and insurance-based setting
- Spectrum of options from hybrid to fully virtual practice
Perfect for:
- Doctors wanting extra revenue
- Stay at home doctors (moms rearing children)
- Physicians in transition toward retirement
- Doctor wanting less pressure to see more patients
- Forward thinkers