Direct Primary Care: Concierge or Not – Are You a Slave?

The word “concierge” is an interesting one.  While in today’s world, hearing the word makes one dream of luxury and pampering, several sources, including Oxford Languages, originate the French word concierge from the Latin “conservus” – meaning a “fellow slave.”  This shocked me.  Similarly, I recently was informed when we use the term “ancillary services” in health care, that “ancillary” originates from the word “ancilla” – a Roman female house slave.

With a degree in Linguistics and a polyglot, I find words fascinating.  And recently, there was a discussion in various DPC forums on whether we use the word “concierge” or not.

In today’s world, we are all taught about “servant leadership” – where we lead through the actions of serving our team.  So it makes me wonder whether “concierge” is a similar concept of serving?  And yet we have the etymology of “doctor” as “docere” – to teach.  So how much of what we do is focused on teaching vs. serving?

One of the biggest differences I personally tell my patients between what we do in DPC is our core philosophy. In our DPC practice, called 4 Elements, our 4 elements are “engage, educate, empower and encourage.”  Our goal is to help our patients advocate for themselves and to navigate the system themselves.  Just like a parent, the less they “need” us, the better job we’ve done.  At times we need to hand-hold a bit, at times we may make an appointment for them, but our ultimate goal is to help THEM do what they need to do, as their guide and teacher – “doctor”.  

What we are NOT is paid labor.  We are NOT a service where someone can pay us to do what they don’t WANT to do (like making appointments or calling insurance companies), like we often see with “concierge” style services, where you pay someone to do the work that you just don’t feel like doing – like a personal chef or butler.  And while we provide the experience of authenticity, to some degree luxury, and education, at the core, DPC is about patient and physician empowerment, and not a nod to slavery.  Especially where physicians are enslaved in the health care bureaucracy in so many ways.  

At the end of the day, words are powerful.  We need to intentionally choose which we are using and why.  We also need to know who our ideal customers are and decide which words resonate with them.  We need to decide how much of ourselves we are going to give and in what capacity.  

And of course, we need to know which words are going to help us get search engine optimization – and then decide, do we agree with it or not?  This may mean we may use words that may not have the best historical origin, even if we disagree with it.

In a world where statues are taken down of historical figures whose beliefs are no longer in alignment with today’s world or names of holidays are changed, such as Columbus Day, as an acknowledgment of historical actions, we must also think of the words we choose and what they have represented and what they represent today.

One of my favorite quotes is from The Interpreter, where Nicole Kidman says, “I don’t play with words….”

This post is purely meant to be thought-provoking and sharing a bit about the power of words, especially in today’s global climate.

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