Concierge Primary Care at Scripps Offers 24/7 Access
Same-day visits with personalized care, coordinated support
Yenny Lim, MD, Scripps Clinic
Same-day visits with personalized care, coordinated support
Same-day appointments, 24/7 physician access, specialty care coordination and complementary valet parking. and complementary valet parking. Patients of the Private Internal Medicine Center (PIMC) at Scripps Clinic enjoy all these benefits and more.
PIMC is a concierge medical practice that offers personalized primary care for adults. Members have access to physicians and staff at Scripps Clinic locations in Carmel Valley, Torrey Pines and La Jolla — and the boutique medicine model promotes a stronger and more collaborative doctor-patient relationship.
“Scripps developed their concierge medicine program more than 20 years ago to allow for some primary care physicians to provide a higher level of accessibility and service to their patients, and it has become very popular,” says Gregory Babikian, MD, division head for PIMC, and an internal medicine physician at Scripps Clinic Carmel Valley. “We have a smaller number of patients who we get to know very well.”
What concierge primary care offers
Membership can include an individual member, couple and children ages 18 to 26. PIMC members have access to an array of services, including:
- Same day or next-day appointments
- An average appointment time of one hour
- Around-the-clock telephone/pager access to their personal PIMC physician
- Coordination of specialty care referrals within Scripps Clinic
- Complementary valet parking at Scripps Clinic Torrey Pines and Scripps Clinic La Jolla
- A comfortable, private waiting area
Certain patients have access to multi-disciplinary Executive Health exams and lifestyle assessments.
“The main benefit is accessibility,” says Dr. Babikian. “This is a program that will continue to grow and we plan to add additional services.”
PIMC has 10 internal medicine physicians, including a new physician who joined the Carmel Valley location in August. PIMC physicians — all part of one of the top-performing internal medicine groups in the country — bring expertise in various areas, including geriatric medicine and women’s health and provide customized care.
Focus on prevention, wellness and healthy aging
Each physician focuses on preventive care, early intervention, wellness and functional longevity, Dr. Babikian says.
“Taking that extra time allows us to not only address the problem at hand, but to be proactive,” he says. “We educate our patients on lifestyle, diet, stress management, sleep — all the things that help us feel better and live well. We want our patients to be as active as they want to be for as long as possible.”
This content appeared in San Diego Health, a publication in partnership between Scripps and San Diego Magazine that celebrates the healthy spirit of San Diego.