A Conversation with Dr. Melissa O’Meara 

What drives your passion for practicing Concierge Medicine at Vail Health?

Concierge Medicine is a new department within Vail Health. My driving passion is to help build a program that responds to the unique needs and challenges of healthcare in our mountain community. Concierge Medicine is a form of direct primary care, meaning that patients have direct access to their care team. We grew out of Colorado Mountain Medical and are closely aligned with their physicians. Colorado Mountain Medical was founded on the idea of making great healthcare local. With Concierge Medicine, we’re building on that idea to make great healthcare portable and accessible. Because we operate outside of insurance restrictions, we can offer more flexibility to those who spend time out of state or need to be able to schedule around their timeline. In many ways, this is a return to the way medicine used to be—where the doctor is just a phone call away. My favorite part of being a physician is talking to patients. I love helping them formulate plans—whether it is better understanding their health and longevity goals, helping them coordinate with their specialists, or being an advocate to help them get the kind of care that I would want a family member to receive. Concierge allows me to spend more time doing the part of the job that I love and less time “checking the boxes” for insurance companies. 

What drew you to this patient care model?

The Concierge, or direct primary care model, has been growing across the US for the past decade. I think that this is largely a reflection of patient choice. As healthcare becomes increasingly specialized, it can also become harder for a patient to coordinate their care. In our busy lives, it’s difficult to take time out of our work and travel schedules to visit the doctor’s office. Add on top of that the ever-changing landscape of healthcare guidelines and wellness influencers, and it can seem overwhelming to know what one ought to be doing for their health. Concierge gives patients the confidence that they can access quality information on their timeline. Each individual is different, so it can be helpful to get personalized information from your doctor rather than the generalized information that can be found on the web. 

Part of what drew me to this practice is that Vail Health is doing Concierge right. By keeping the Concierge Department embedded in the traditional primary care system, we can help and support each other. The Concierge Department is well-suited to trying out new processes to improve the patient experience, while the breadth and depth of experience from the traditional practice help support the highest quality of care. By working together, we can offer more choices to patients while still supporting the health of the whole valley. 

How does Vail Health Concierge Medicine differ from primary care?

The Vail Health Concierge Medicine program is a primary care program. I have always been a primary care internal medicine provider. What’s different about the Concierge Department is the way that care is delivered. With traditional primary care, a patient must find a physician who takes his or her insurance. Bills are submitted to the insurance, and the patient pays a copay or a percentage of each visit fee. In Concierge, patients pay an annual membership fee to have unlimited access to the primary care team. The membership fee associated with Concierge Medicine allows us to have a much smaller patient panel. By having direct access to me, I find that I get to know my patients better and can get ahead of their healthcare issues. I like that Vail Health offers the choice of both Concierge and traditional primary care to patients. By offering both models of primary care, patients can choose the care delivery system that works best for them.   

Tell us about your medical background and how your training influences your patient care philosophy.

Not everybody knows this, but my undergrad background is actually in philosophy. I sometimes joke that I snuck into the science department. My humanities background trained me to look at an issue from multiple perspectives, which I believe has helped me approach medicine with empathy and humility. 

I also took a non-traditional approach to medical school. I worked in employee benefits insurance for 5 years before I went back to medical school. In that role, I would present predictive modeling to the C-Suite one day, then the next day be on the factory floor explaining health insurance to the employees. I loved the balance between a highly analytical role and one that required in-the-moment accessibility. This helped me understand the importance of accessible communication. I want to present information in a way that will help the patient be able to make their own decision based on their own values. 

I did all my medical training here in Colorado. I attended CU-Anschutz for medical school, then residency at St. Joseph/National Jewish. At both of those institutions, I was awed by the depth of knowledge and commitment to excellence that I saw modeled. I remain in touch with many of my teachers and colleagues, who are at the forefront of healthcare in Colorado. 

Overall, this led me to a care philosophy that views my role as a trusted advisor. I try to emulate the commitment to excellence that I learned in academic medicine, while infusing it with the humility and accessibility that my prior roles have given me. I am lucky enough to practice the type of medicine I love in the most beautiful place on earth, and I view every day as a blessing. 

To learn more about joining the Vail Health Concierge Medicine program, please fill out the online interest form and a team member will get back to you as soon as possible.