Dr. Jason Robin

At age 48, I was taking care of approximately 4,000 patients. If a new patient tried to get in to see me,
the waiting list, at times, was up to one year-long. My current patients would have to wait 18-24
months to see me for a follow up visit. In response, I would just keep adding more hours to my already
packed days. I would see patients early in the morning before the nursing staff arrived or after hours,
often until 9 o’clock at night. It had been almost two decades since I ate lunch! I love the art and
practice of medicine. Nothing gives me more satisfaction than the patient relationships I have been
privileged to develop over the years. The model I was working within was not sustainable and I wanted
to continue practicing medicine for another 20 years or more.

Concierge medicine has allowed me to practice the way I envisioned when I was 21 years old and
received my first white coat at Rush Medical College in 1998. I am no longer hurried with patients. I can
call them to discuss results and not rely solely on the “patient portal.” In addition, at Dedication Health,
I am immediately surrounded by hundreds of years of medical experience when there is a need to
discuss complex matters. I am also fortunate to have close contacts at North Shore, Rush,
Northwestern, the University of Chiago and City of Hope.

Of significant importance, is that almost all of the testing that I need can be done the same day in our
office with our warm and friendly technicians. Whether it be an X-ray to look for pneumonia, a CT scan
to look for appendicitis, CTA to diagnose a blockage in a coronary artery, echocardiography to determine
cardiac function, stress testing, cardiac rhythm monitoring, home sleep studies, genetic testing or
routine labs; everything is either a walk down the hall or an eight-minute drive to our other office. This type of practice has allowed me to be the doctor I would want my family members to see.

This gets back to precision-based medicine. Guidelines are necessary for the masses and should be
considered in every patient who walks in the office. The development of guidelines by the American
Heart Association, American College of Cardiology and the European Society of Cardiology continue to
be modified as research evolves and have led to a significant reduction in cardiovascular mortality over
the years. However, there are still patients who follow these general guidelines and still have poor
outcomes.

At Dedication Health, with the resources in our office, we are able take things a step further. We have
University caliber equipment on site; which allows for the detection of coronary atherosclerosis
(narrowing of the arteries which supply blood to the heart) before one has their first heart attack. This
imaging, in conjunction with a full metabolic assessment, cholesterol/lipoprotein analysis and
inflammatory grading, allows us to initiate lifestyle changes and medical therapy to prevent a first event.
In addition, we have collaborated with Genomic MD to determine not only a patient’s genetic
predisposition for coronary disease, but also kidney disease, diabetes, obesity and atrial fibrillation. This
comprehensive assessment gives a more precise estimate of cardiac risk and allows patients to be rest
assured that they are on the right path to avoid heart disease in their lifetime.

In medicine, we talk about both primary and secondary prevention. Primary prevention refers to the
care we provide to mitigate risk of developing a disease states such diabetes, hypertension, coronary
disease, heart failure and cancer. Secondary prevention refers to preventing a second event such as
another heart attack or stroke. The key to both is precision-based medicine in which the doctor and
patient can communicate effortlessly to achieve these goals. In concierge medicine, appointments are
not rushed and trying to get in to see your doctor takes hours, maybe a day, but never weeks or months.
Patient care needs to be individualized based on each person’s unique response to lifestyle changes,
medications, unique genetics and psychosocial issues. In today’s landscape, this type of precision care is
very difficult to achieve outside of the concierge model.

Why else concierge medicine? Let’s consider complex disease or rare diseases. We are so fortunate to
live in the Chicagoland area where we have some of the best hospitals and physicians in the world. For
my patients with extremely rare conditions or ultracomplex disorders, seldom do I need to call my out-
of-town colleagues. For those who require extremely high-risk surgeries, we have internationally
recognized surgeons a car ride away. However, there are times when it can be useful to see someone at
places such as MD Anderson, Sloan Kettering, Mayo and the Cleveland Clinic. In these situations, it is
imperative to have a doctor who has the time to do the research and think outside of the box when a
distant referral may be warranted.

The issue patients face, whether it be an in-town or out-of-town consultation, is being able to get in and
be evaluated in a timely fashion. It is no secret that there is a significant supply and demand mismatch
when it comes to doctors and patients. As the population grows and ages at an exponential rate, the
same number of doctors are graduating from medical school and more doctors are retiring at younger
ages due to physician burnout. This is where having a concierge physician can be life changing decision.
Your concierge doctor will do everything possible to get you in to see the sub specialist who is the right
fit. Furthermore, having a concierge physician who has the time to take an in-depth history and has the
technology on site to thoroughly and quickly investigate a condition, leads to a much faster diagnosis
and often saves one from needing to be referred outside of the practice in the first place.

I have dedicated four decades of my life to the understanding the body in health and in disease. I trained at one of the most rigorous programs in the country and have always made it a mission to be a life-long student of medicine. I have maintained board certification in five disciplines. This was never for the acknowledgement or accolades. The goal has always been to be a physician with a very broad knowledge base in order to recognize when health is failing so that I can promptly diagnose, manage and cure when feasible. Although I am recognized as a heart expert, I have never abandoned the internal medicine I studied while at Northwestern. Almost every risk factor for heart disease can impact brain, lung, and kidney health, not to mention cancer risk. It has always been my goal to treat the entire patient and have a relationship where each patient walks away confident that their overall health is in great hands. I take pride in being able to manage most conditions on my own, but have never been bashful to ask for other’s opinions. In my mind, that is the recipe for great outcomes and long-term relationships.