Meet the private doctor to the wealthy — at $40,000 a year
A version of this article first appeared in CNBC's Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.
When people ask Dr. Jordan Shlain to describe his medical practice, he says simply: "It's a family office for your health."
"Family offices typically have a goal of preserving wealth," he said. "Our goal is preserving your health. After the age of 24 you're a depreciating asset health-wise. So we aim to decrease the slope of the curve for as long as possible."
As depressing as that sounds for patients, Shlain's strategy is paying off as a business model. His company, Private Medical, is at the forefront of a new type of health care for the ultra-wealthy that has taken concierge medicine to a whole new level. Rather than simply offering on-call doctors and faster visits, Private Medical has pioneered a highly personalized, all-in-one service that's more akin to the most sophisticated family offices for investments.
Like family offices, Private Medical has an in-house team to manage a family's entire health portfolio – from fitness and dietary tracking to longevity research, surgeries and medical emergencies. It now serves more than 1,000 wealthy families, with offices in California — San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills — New York and Miami, and more offices on the way.
Private Medical's team of 135 physicians, nurses, clinical staff, pharmacists and medical support professionals provides 24/7 on-call service, including home and office visits when needed. Private Medical doesn't advertise and gets most of its business through referrals. It prefers to call patients "members."
Shlain