MD² commemorates 18 years of practicing highly personalized care

Widely credited with originating the concept of concierge medicine, MD² celebrates 18 years of practicing highly personalized care. MD² began in Seattle, WA, and now has a collection of eight offices affiliated with world-class medical institutions. Each MD² physician cares for only 50 families—granting them the luxury of time to practice medicine tailored to fit the lifestyles of their highly mobile families.

"When someone is in the hospital or on a complicated visit with a specialist, treating them requires an extraordinary amount of time, as you can only imagine," said Dr. Shari Midoneck, a physician in the MD² Park Avenue practice. "It is a tremendous gift to care for my patients as I would my own family. This can only be accomplished because I care for such a select few."

In 1996, MD² Founder Dr. Howard Maron found it increasingly difficult to keep up with the ever more demanding pace of traditional medicine. This pace was not conducive to the extraordinary quality of care he always wanted to give. So, he asked an intriguing question: what would it mean to practice "medicine in the ideal?" The answer came in the form of the first MD² office, where he restricted his practice to a select group of patients. Unencumbered by insurance, he had the time and resources to offer the caliber of care he dreamed of in medical school.

"I never expected that by opening my one practice an entirely new category of healthcare would be created. It's amazing for me to see all the different levels of concierge medicine that are now available to people," said Dr. Maron.

"Our practice was designed around this ideology: provide the convenience, accommodation, and best-of-class service you expect from every service provider in your life. The very nature of these relationships necessitates we limit our practice to so few. It's what sets us apart."

Maron then asked another question: what would happen if you enlisted the most renowned physicians in cities with world-class medical institutions and asked them to dedicate themselves to their patients as if they were their own most precious family members? One by one the invitation was accepted, and thus the blueprint for the MD² group of medical offices was created.

MD² now has medical offices in New York, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, Menlo Park, Portland, Bellevue and Seattle and will open two others later this year. Reflecting on MD²'s evolution, Maron said, "As I continue to grow this special practice, I remind myself how fortunate we are to have interesting and distinguished patients. I cherish the relationships deeply."