Tom Lee went to medical school to be a family practice physician and came out disillusioned with the profession's focus on quantity over quality. He pivoted, heading to Stanford for an MBA, and in 2005, Lee launched One Medical Group in San Francisco. The company aims to make the benefits of "concierge" medicine -- same-day appointments, responsive doctors and a holistic medical approach -- available to the mass market.
One Medical takes most major insurance but is also member supported. Patents patients pay an annual fee of $150 or $200 (it varies by region regionally). The company has modern technology baked into every aspect of its operations, from online appointment-scheduling tools to doctors that are happy to field questions by e-mail. That helps patients avoid coming into the office to deal with minor issues.
"This system is actually much more traditional in nature," Lee says. "Healthcare isn't about the transaction, it's about the relationship. You can't know a patient by looking at a page full of numbers and having a three-minute visit."
Investors are bullish on the idea. One Medical has raised almost $47 million from venture capitalists and has 13 office locations -- seven in San Francisco, four in New York and two in Washington D.C. It plans to open a dozen more in 2012.
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