Before joining MDVIP, Dr. Adam Cohen had heard of the company several years before he joined and was “intrigued” by its model. Cohen has been caring for patients in Queens and Long Island as one of the company’s physicians since 2014.
For the past 19 years, MDVIP has been an groundbreaking alternative to traditional medical practices. Its membership-based model focuses on providing patients with personalized and preventative health care while teaching its clients to become more proactive about their health.
Since 2000, MDVIP has amassed a network of more than 1,000 primary care physicians and more than 330,000 patients across the United States. There are currently about 59 MDVIP practices in New York.
“A lot of personalized care and preventative care requires getting to know your patients and having more time to talk with them about various health issues. I think most physicians want to be able to do that kind of care and I think most patients are interested in that kind of care,” said Cohen.
Cohen earned his medical degree from Boston University and completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He is board-certified in both family and geriatric medicine.
The doctor shared that physicians in traditional practices typically do not have the time to give patients one-on-one care on the level that MDVIP doctors can.
According to MDVIP Chairman and CEO Bret Jorgensen, personalized and preventative health care starts with having a smaller practice, which he said is a cornerstone of the company’s philosophy.
“It’s very hard to do things like a comprehensive, annual wellness exam if you’ve got 2,500 patients. There’s just not enough time in the day to do stuff like that,” Jorgensen said. “[A smaller practice] allows the doctor to know their patient better.”
An average appointment for MDVIP patients lasts 30 minutes but Cohen said that those who need more time can easily schedule that with their physicians.
“Creating personalized care requires having time to spend with the patients to get to know them better, to ask questions, to have them ask questions and to create a dialogue,” said Cohen.
He added that MDVIP patients can also communicate with their doctors via phone, email and text message.
For over 20 years, Cohen has served patients in Queens and Long Island and has also become known as a “house-call” physician for disabled and elderly patients.
“I probably do about 10 house calls a week, a number of them I do in North Shore Towers,” said Cohen, adding that it is a natural outgrowth of his role as a geriatrician.
The doctor said that his number of house calls has doubled since becoming an MDVIP doctor due to its flexible model. He shared that house calls differ from office visits in that he can get a clearer picture of how his patients live on a daily basis.
“It’s a much more holistic view of the patient because you’re actually seeing them in their home environment. So you could see that maybe the floors are too slippery or the furniture is laid out in the wrong way and they’re more likely to trip because of the way that they’re laid out,” the doctor said.
He acknowledge that wellness and prevention differ for his homebound patients when compared to his in-office patients. He focuses more on preventing slips, falls and hospital visits as well as the proper way to take medication for his house-call patients.
In addition Cohen has participated in innovative events like group fitness classes and “Get Fit With Your Doc” patient walks. These events allow patients and doctors to take a walk outside and creates a channel for open dialogue.
“Those are fun things and patients enjoy it. They get to pick my brain [about different topics] as we’re doing our exercise,” said Cohen.
To learn more about MDVIP, visit their website and Facebook page.
