VIP medicine is a variety of the VIP syndromeâÂÂthe phenomenon of a perceived "VIP" (very important person) using his or her status to influence a given professional or institution to make unorthodox decisions under the pressure or presence of said VIPâÂÂthat relates to the accessibility and quality of health care. It is essentially health care in which a physician or hospital accommodates a wealthy, important or famous patient who can afford to pay the full medical bill outright, usually with luxury amenities, and seclusion from the ordinary run of patient, as added benefits. As a result, such a patient may receive something other than the normal standard of care; the deviation may be in the direction of either greater or lesser safety and quality.
VIP medicine may be initially reflected in expedited care in an emergency room or more immediate and direct access to specialists, bypassing primary care providers. A "VIP suite", or "wing", is one venue where VIP medicine may be practiced in the hospital settingâÂÂindeed, whole floors of a hospital building, at major medical centers, may be dedicated to it. A particular type of formalized and regularized VIP medical practice is known as concierge medicine. Many aspects of medical tourism overlap with VIP medicine.
High-profile individuals typically receiving VIP medical treatment include prominent and powerful politicians, royals and aristocrats, the super-rich (including corporate executives), entertainment and sports celebrities, and eminent or famous medical people themselves. The families or relatives of these types of people are also apt to receive special medical treatment.
The term VIP syndrome is thought to have been coined in 1964 when Maryland psychiatrist Walter Weintraub reported that his hospital had been thrown into turmoil as staff there struggled to respond to the relentless demands of influential patients and their relatives. In addition to the turmoil, Weintraub was particularly concerned by the large number of "therapeutic failures" (10 of 12) among the patients in his series. A high rate of signing-out of the hospital against medical advice was a notable attendant problem.
Prominent people desire instant and ample medical care. Additionally, they want to avoid public scrutiny in matters of private medical care, and may demand special accommodations on this basis. They avoid the journalists as well as the onlookers among the hospital staff. They desire privacy for an extra security. Often the pressure on medical staff for special accommodations comes from a VIP's entourage rather than from the patient.
Medical personnel are also not immune to becoming fascinated by the presence of a celebrity or powerful figure. Physicians and hospitals may relish the extra revenue accruing from the treatment of VIP patients, sometimes in the form of lavish donations, and so may accommodate them accordingly. Some wealthy patients are not above gifting individual providers lavishly in hopes of easier accommodation of their needs, a situation that creates a conflict of interest when specific requests may be counter to a patient's welfare.
Often characterized by walnut-paneled rooms and high-thread-count bed sheets, VIP accommodations at large hospitals have traditionally inspired special, sometimes sarcastic, nicknames such as "the Gold Coast" and "Millionaires' Row". Examples include the labor and delivery ward at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, known as the "Beyoncé Rooms".
A number of criticisms have been leveled at the practice of VIP medicine. These can be broadly categorized as focusing on issues of fairness (elitism), economy (wastefulness), and safety (lax standards).
Some medical institutions have drafted innovative policy directed at correcting some of the excesses of VIP medicine. In 2011, the Cleveland Clinic's Jorge Guzman published nine principles of caring for VIPs in the Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine, warning staff against bending the rules, accepting lavish gifts, and automatically bringing in department chairs to care for a patient rather than a lower-ranking physician who might actually be more expert in treating a particular ailment. In 2015, the Mayo Clinic of Minnesota instituted policy stipulating that personal gifts to staff in excess of $25 value cannot be accepted and must be forwarded to the development office.