Procter & Gamble has purchased MDVIP, a network of 350 doctors in 28 states, and plans to expand the business, which already has grown from 45,000 patients to 115,000 since P&G became a minority
investor four years ago, David Holthaus reports.
MDVIP is the largest of what are known as concierge health-care practices. At MDVIP, enrollees pay an annual fee of $1,500 in exchange
for more time and better access with their doctors, who cap their practice at 600 patients rather than the typical 2,000 to 3,000. "We see this as a learning venture as well as a business," says
Nathan Estruth, vp of P&G's FutureWorks unit.
P&G will use the company as an "incubator" where it will gather information about primary care medicine, but Estruth says it does not
plan to market its products through the offices. Patients sign a contract that includes an option to permit information gathering, but it is collected only in the aggregate.
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