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 that requires the overhead of a 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. Also, 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.
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 smartphone is very helpful but not mandatory
- Background Check
- NPDB query
- Identity Proofing for e-prescribing
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 physician, you will be notified by email and/or SMS text message.
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 the 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 may communicate with you via asynchronous messaging, live chat, or video conferencing -- all in one place. There is no need to download an app or toggle between different software products.
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
How do I get paid?
As mentioned above, you will receive 70% of membership fees for as long as you choose to stay on board with Cirrus Medical Network. In other words, your overhead using Cirrus Medical Network as a Management Services Organization (MSO) is 30% of collections. Again, we want our affiliates to feel properly compensated for their work and access. Telemedicine physicians have been historically underpaid/undervalued. It’s time to close the gap.
Note: In the future, we hope to implement a custom fee option so that physicians may adjust their fees for memberships and/or services as desired, but not lower than our recommended rates.
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?
Telemedicine has been around for quite some time. It is a proven model of care. Historically used for remote areas lacking specialty care, it is now utilized for all fields of medicine. Even surgeons use telemedicine for instruction (see TED Video about advanced laparoscopic surgeon training). Your scope of practice is generally dependent on what you feel comfortable with. Obviously , certain complaints/problems will require a physical exam in person. However, most conditions in primary care can be treated with a good history and if needed, video or still images.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced physicians & surgeons in all specialties to adopt telemedicine. As a result, not only are all providers more comfortable with telehealth, but patients are likely to be demanding it.
We do provide Professional Liability (Telehealth Malpractice Insurance) for our physician affiliates. We ask that physician affiliates fill out a simple application during the onboarding process. The underwriting may take from 1-2 days to 2-3 weeks depending on one's claims history. If you are already practicing independently and have malpractice coverage, be sure to check with your carrier to see if telehealth is covered.
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.
We do provide professional liability coverage for our providers. The underwriting may take anywhere from 1-2 days to a few weeks depending on whether or not you have a history of claims. If you are already practicing independently and have malpractice coverage, be sure to check with your carrier to see if telehealth is covered.
Our policy does cover cyber liability, errors and omissions, and privacy as well.
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?
Certainly, it is. In fact, one might augment their income as an affiliate of Cirrus Medical Network. Or, one might offer online concierge to their current patients. However, Cirrus Medical Network will not provide any billing services and one must be careful about the legalities of treating Medicare patients for cash only. It can be done. Please contact our legal department, for additional information.
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 look forward to offering this service in the near future.
How secure is Cirrus Medical Network?
Most are physicians are familiar with HIPPA and understand that appropriate measures must be taken to prevent breech of Personal Health Information (PHI) outside of the network, or to anyone without expressed consent. We make every effort possible to maintain security within the site. Our legal team and security officer are available for any additional questions. Also, please review our privacy policy and third-party tools. All physician affiliates will sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with 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