Is There a Doctor in the Hamptons?

I recently watched the season premiere of "Royal Pains" on the USA Network, as I admittedly have something of a Mark Feuerstein crush, and given my love of the former NBC hit drama, "The West Wing", I feel the need to support any actor whom ever appeared on that show. (For those keeping track at home, Feuerstein played Cliff Caley, in a recurring guest-starring role.)

The show was, of course, entertaining, well-acted, well-written, clever, all anyone can ask of a new television show, in a time in which the pains of reality television seem to still be taking over. It did, however, raise the question for me, of "concierge doctors", and whether or not such a thing really does exist, and to what extent. Do the glitterati in places like the Hamptons, Manhattan, Aspen, Los Angeles, Telluride, Miami, et al., really have concierge doctors? Medical professionals who don't work for a hospital or medical practice, but rather work privately, for the world's elite, allowing them to avoid documented medical care (and, potential public embarrasment and/or police action) for plastic surgeries gone awry and drug overdoses? Doctors who pull up in a fancy SVU with a myriad of portable medical devices in the back? A black, leather Coach bag containing perscriptions? (And, how many medical ethics are being violated by physicians randomly carrying a variety of perscriptions, and potentially carrying them over state lines.)

Perhaps it's my own ignorance or naivety on the subject, as I am not one of the world's elite, possessed with the luxury of a private physician. Now, I will admit that in this day HMO's, increasing difficulty to obtain services as insurance companies don't want to pay, and the never-ending pleasure of waiting for hours in a hosptial emergency room, for a broken bone or laceration, the idea of having a conceirge doctor isn't an altogether unpleasant idea. But, shouldn't affordable and quality healthcare be a basic right of all people, regardless of station in life? Shouldn't the person who takes out Donald Trump's garbage be entitled to the same medical care as The Donald, himself? This isn't the same thing as buying a Wii or an iPhone, it's healthcare. Doesn't healthcare fall under the three unalienable rights that are provided to all citizens of this country, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Isn't that precisely why there are valid arguments for universal healthcare in this country, and why it's really only going to be a matter of time before it becomes a reality? Is this just going to be one more thing, one more wedge-issue to continue to divide the have's and have not's in America, yet another thing to cause contention between the classes?

And, should we be questioning the ethics of doctors who do become concierge doctors? The physician who went from being the Chief of Internal Medicine at the Mayo Clinic or Mount Sinai, and who now pumps the stomach of some Hollywood starlet who is vacationing in the Hamptons, so that it doesn't end up on "Entertainment Tonight", when she is taken to the hospital. (Let's be honest, the people who have the resources to hire doctors on demand aren't hiring the general practioner from some little family practice in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.) Does it only feed into the idea that has been perpetuated by society, the media, and certain aspects of the medical community, that people only become doctors because they want to be rich? (Now, obviously, anyone who has a friend or family member that is a doctor, knows that hardly all physicians end up rolling in dough, too. As with any profession, a great deal depends on location and specialty. The pediatrician or emergency room physician at a local, community hospital isn't making anywhere near what that plastic surgeon in New York City or the cardiothorasic surgeon in Boston are making.) I don't doubt that many doctors out there would love to find a way to pay off their student loans, faster, but wouldn't any reasonable physician have some serious moral or ethical objections to this type of practice? Shouldn't it, in some way, be a violation of the Hippocratic Oath?

Now, Feurestein's character on "Royal Pains" is certainly an example of a concierge doctor with a conscience, who genuinely cares more for the patients he is called in to see, rather than what he is being paid from someone's black American Express card. Should concierge doctors really be as prevelant as they seem, based on the portrayal, we can only hope that they have the same moral fiber possessed by Feurestein's character. And, for those of us who have or will watch, "Royal Pains", we can only hope that continues to the enduring and endearing trait of the character, and that he doesn't turn into what I'm sure we all imagine is the stereotypical concierge doctor in the Hamptons.