Unbabbled
Unbabbled
Concierge Medicine with Dr. Benjamin Ho | Season 7 Episode 8
In this episode, we speak with pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Ho, MD, FAAP, about concierge medicine. Dr. Ho is the Medical Director of Texas Children's Pediatrics Concierge Medicine Program – a program he recently helped bring to Texas Children’s. Throughout the episode, Dr. Ho discusses what concierge medicine is and how the delivery model differs from the traditional medical model. He also discusses who may benefit from concierge medicine and why he chose this delivery model.
Dr. Ho has a bachelor's degree from Brown University in neuroscience, attended McGovern Medical School and completed his residency training at Texas Children’s Hospital. He joined Texas Children’s Pediatrics PMG after graduation. After decades of practicing medicine, Dr. Ho began the Concierge Medicine program in 2024 at Texas Children’s. In addition to speaking English, he also speaks Cantonese Chinese and Spanish. Dr. Ho is passionate about giving children and families the highest standard of care and is passionate about direct communication with patients and a comprehensive approach to health that encompasses not just physical well-being, but emotional and developmental needs as well.
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Stephanie Landis (00:06):
Hello and welcome to Unbabbled, a podcast that navigates the world of special education, communication, delays and learning differences. We are your host, Stephanie Landis and Meredith Krummel, and we're certified speech language pathologist who spend our days at the parish school in Houston helping children find their voices and connect with the world around them. Gateway Academy is a unique school in Houston, Texas, serving sixth through 12th grade students with academic and social challenges. Gateway's committed to teaching traditional academics while also meeting the social and emotional needs of their students with learning and social differences. Over the last 15 years, their work has been to provide students with opportunities for identity exploration, learning self-awareness, and practicing self-advocacy, opening a path to personal significance in college, career and community. For more information, visit their website at www.thegatewayacademy.org. In this episode, we speak with pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Ho about concierge medicine. Dr. Ho is the medical director of Texas Children's Pediatrics Concierge Medicine program, a program he recently helped bring to Texas Children's. Throughout the episode, Dr. Ho discusses what concierge medicine is and how the delivery model differs from the traditional medical model. He also discusses who may benefit from concierge medicine and why he chose this delivery model.
(01:32):
Welcome. Today we have pediatrician Dr. Ho from Texas Children's here with us today, and we're so excited to talk to you.
Dr. Benjamin Ho (01:38):
Yes, thank you so much for the invitation. I'm so excited to be here to not only tour the school, but also talk about the new program that we started at Texas.
Stephanie Landis (01:48):
Yeah. How long have you been a pediatrician?
Dr. Benjamin Ho (01:51):
I've been with Texas Children's, including my residency for a little over 20 years,
(01:57):
So I've been there for a long time. But let me tell you a funny story is that I've been there even longer because I was a patient there. So when I first moved to Houston, I remember that my mom took me to the clinic I'm at now as a kid. So I was a kid at eight and I started with that practice. So when I started becoming a doctor there, I still recognized and they recognized me, some of the older employees that were still there. So I've been there for a long time, 30, 30 years I would say.
Stephanie Landis (02:30):
That's amazing. What a wonderful connection. And as you mentioned, you recently started a new program there. I know Texas Children's has a lot of smaller offices all around the city. My kids go to a Texas Children's one closest to our house. But you've started something different there and it's concierge.
Dr. Benjamin Ho (02:48):
Yes, correct. You're exactly right. So we started a whole new department here in November, and I am so excited about the program because this honestly is job of my dreams. I feel like this program allows me to be the doctor that I've always wanted to be. So what I mean by that is that instead of having thousands of patients on my panel like I did before, I only have a couple of hundred. So that means the patients have access to me 24 7. So the biggest benefits are time and access with the program, and it's been such an incredible experience so far.
Stephanie Landis (03:27):
So what makes concierge different from seeing a doctor at your clinic?
Dr. Benjamin Ho (03:33):
I think the biggest difference is, again, time and access. And the difference is that the patient's schedule dictates our schedule as opposed to our scheduling dictate the patient's schedule. So what I mean by that is, for example, they can call me, they can send me messages 24 7 instant access. When they come in, they're the only patients in the clinic. It's a very relaxed atmosphere. Instead of 10, 15 minute appointment slots, we have at least 30 minutes to about an hour each visit. So parents are relaxed, the kids are relaxed, I'm relaxed also. There's always same day and next day appointments. So when the patients are like, well, what time can I come in? I usually ask, what time can you come in? You tell me instead of me telling you when you want to come in. So I think that's the biggest difference is that the patients have control over their schedule and when they want to come in. So I think that's the biggest difference.
Meredith Krimmel (04:36):
So you mentioned when people come, they're the only one in the clinic. So is your clinic separate than from the Texas Children's Clinic? Do you have your own space?
Dr. Benjamin Ho (04:43):
Yes, correct. So I'm still located at the Kirby location, but again, just like you alluded to, it's two separate clinics. So we built out an area at the very back. It's nice and quiet and serene. We have a little coffee bar with juice and water and toys, and we have sound making machines for bird sounds and waterfalls. It's very nice and relaxed back there. So it's two separate clinics and I'm at the very back. Correct.
Stephanie Landis (05:13):
That's amazing. So when a long time ago was a new mom, I was often either trying to email or send a message through or making a list of like, oh, I need to make sure to ask the doctor this the next time I go. See, instead, a patient could just text you right then.
Dr. Benjamin Ho (05:36):
That's exactly right. So the greatest thing is that the difference with this model of medicine is that there are no more obstacles. When the patients call, I pick up the phone. I don't have triage nurses. There's no receptionist, there's no waiting room. It's very intimate communication. They call, I pick up when they arrive, either my nurse or I will greet them at the front door and walk them to the very back. So it's very nice and intimate, and I always laugh whenever I love it when patients call me for the very first time. They're very new patients. They call me for the very first time, and I pick up the phone and I say, hello, this is Dr. Ho, Texas Children's Concierge. And 100% of the time the patients are always like, oh my gosh, I didn't really mean to bother you. I didn't expect
Stephanie Landis (06:30):
That would be me.
Dr. Benjamin Ho (06:30):
Yeah, right. I didn't expect you to pick up the phone. I just wanted to talk to the manager or the secretary about some information, and I said, no, I am here to give you whatever information. And they're always so grateful and appreciative from the first minute. They're always like, oh my God, this is medicine. Back in the old days when I can actually get ahold of my doctor instantly without having to message or go through the nurse or go through triage nurse at night. And so just from that experience, they're already hooked from that one experience. So that's the difference.
Meredith Krimmel (07:07):
Do you find that there are certain families who benefit more from concierge medicine? I have a friend who their pediatrician is through concierge practice, and she said she loves that because her kid gets sick a lot. They have a lot of frequent illnesses in their home or their child's on medication and getting prescriptions is really easy, regular. Do you find that there are families who benefit more from this type of service?
Dr. Benjamin Ho (07:31):
I think that everyone can benefit from the service. So what you alluded to, definitely. So parents who have kids who may have more complicated medical issues or who have more kids. So obviously if you have more kids, they get sick, things like that. And so they need access to the doctor more often. Certainly I agree. But I would say patients of all ages. So from the very beginning, newborns, for example, you remember when you guys were first time parents, right? You go home and
Stephanie Landis (08:03):
Sleep deprived,
Dr. Benjamin Ho (08:04):
Sleep deprived in the middle of night, you're Googling WebMD, oh my gosh, my baby spit up. What do I do? What are your choices? Google or my mom or freak out.
(08:18):
Or you call the triage nurse and the triage nurse doesn't know you don't know the triage nurse. And usually they're like, well, I don't know, just go to the er. That's always the standard answer, but how nice is it in the middle of night when you call, you talk to your own doctor and say, Hey, and most of the time in pediatrics, I have to admit, 90% of the time, it's a lot of just reassurance. Hey, spit up is okay. Hey, he hasn't pooped in a day. That's okay. You don't need to freak out. You just need to hear those sort of reassuring words in the middle of night, and then you can go back to sleep. And so it goes from newborns to older kids. So sometimes when I talk to new patients or new parents who have older kids about the program, some of their usual responses are, oh, but my kid isn't too, we don't get ear infections anymore.
(09:17):
They don't get colds. I don't think I need your service. But I would hesitate, and I would argue that actually when you're a little older, as you guys have older kids, sometimes those issues are a little bit more complicated. So you're in middle school, you're in high school, you have bullying, everyone's on social media, there's a lot of mental health issues. Now. Those are a little bit more complicated and tougher to sort of manage than just, oh, here's a amoxicillin for your ear infection. So when kids have those sort of issues, there's more things they have to navigate through. And obviously you need more time with the doctor to help you navigate the process. And then I have kids who are college students, so we see kids all the way up to 21, which is great. So obviously when you go to college, there's student health, but it's nice and reassuring when the college student's like, let me call Dr. Ho. He's my dog. He's known me for 10, 20 years. Let me call him and see. So they can call me before they go to student health, or they can call me after to confirm the diagnosis. Or if it's something easy like, oh, I have a rash, and I can just send a prescription of a cream to their pharmacy in whatever school they go to. So I feel that this program, to answer your question, benefits everyone.
(10:46):
Yeah,
Stephanie Landis (10:47):
I could see that with the older kids. Currently, my daughter plays a lot of sports and off and on, she keeps being like, my ankle hurts. I'm like, do I have time to go to the pediatrician and then to the pt, and then to this, and then to that. I'm like, are you sure it hurts? It would be nice to just wrap it. Yeah. Unfortunately for her, she's just been throwing a brace on it. But yeah, I'm like, wow, it'd be so nice just to text the pediatrician and be like, Hey, your ankle hurts. Will you send me a recommendation or what should we do?
Dr. Benjamin Ho (11:18):
So to piggyback off your comment, I mean, how many times has that happened to you? And don't go to the pediatrician or you don't
Stephanie Landis (11:26):
Right now. We didn't.
Dr. Benjamin Ho (11:27):
Right, right now. Exactly. Or you don't even bother asking because of the trouble how long it'll take to get seen or that your response won't be answered in a timely manner. So you're just like you said, let's just wrap it, put some ice on it, take some Tylenol, let's just see what happens as opposed to having, oh, let me just call the doctor. Let me just text him right now and see what he says. The answer. Probably nine out of 10 times would be just to wrap it and put ice on it, but it's still nice to hear it from the actual
Meredith Krimmel (12:00):
Well, it's nice to know it's the right choice.
Dr. Benjamin Ho (12:02):
Exactly. Exactly.
Meredith Krimmel (12:04):
I know when my daughter fell off the beam and hurt her pinky toe, and I was so guilty of being, we don't have time to go to the doctor. Let me just Google it. Oh, you can't do anything for a broken toe anyway, just ice it and wrap it. Let's keep going. And I'm like, oh, no, no, no. I probably should take, I got to the point where I was like, no, this one looks a little, but honestly, we didn't really have to do anything. But it would've been nice in that moment to have one phone call away, your doctor, to answer that question for you. I was just using Google as you mentioned earlier.
Dr. Benjamin Ho (12:31):
Right, right. Yeah. And another great thing about the program is that we're integrated with Texas Children's Urgent Care.
(12:38):
So the amazing thing is that patients in the program get sort of a fast pass. So when they arrive, they get seen sooner. So let me tell you a story you brought up about the ankle, because the other day I had a patient, he's 10 years old, and he fell off a slide and he wasn't able to move his ankle. So mom was obviously concerned, do we need an x-ray? It's just a sprain, what is it? And nine times out of 10, you would just say, oh, let me just, we'll wrap it and kind of see. But there are times when you're like, you don't know. And so he was really crying in pain. He wasn't able to move. Giving Tylenol didn't help. So they called me, and this was, I don't know, a Friday at eight o'clock, 8:00 PM Obviously all the clinics are closed.
(13:30):
They called me. And then I was able to coordinate with the Texas Children's Urgent Care closest to their house, let them know they're coming, so that when the patients arrived, they were seen immediately, got an x-ray, and then they left. I got the result of the x-ray 30 minutes later. And then I talked to the patient and was able to tell them what the diagnosis is, what the treatment plan is, any follow-ups, things like that. So it's a very smooth transition. And the great thing about this program is that we are integrated with Texas Children's, and as we all know, Texas Children's is the largest pediatric system in the nation. And for that reason, we have such tremendous resources, vast resources. And so to have a concierge program integrated with all these vast resources is amazing. And so patients call all the time, and I don't want them to.
(14:29):
And the other funny thing is, it's interesting how respectful all the patients are when they call, they're always like, oh my God, I'm so sorry to bother you. It's a Friday today, or It's Sunday. I know you're at church. I'm so sorry, but my kid has blah, blah, blah. And so I feel that we're a family because the patient panel is so small. When the patients call me, I know them well, I pick up the phone and I say, oh, hey, Lisa, what's up? How's Billy doing? Is it his asthma? Again, I don't even need to look at the chart. I already kind of know. And that familiarity really puts the patients at ease instantly. Just me picking up the phone and knowing their history is a nice sort of connection that we have.
Stephanie Landis (15:18):
And I think that would really help. I mean, as a speech pathologist, my lens is always early intervention, early intervention, early intervention, and then being able to see, and I know that young kids have so many appointments with the pediatrician before they're one, and then less frequently as they hit 2, 3, 4. But having that familiarity and closeness with the parents I think probably helps you find things earlier. I'm assuming seeing patterns, noticing things so that you're not going long periods of time, or like you said, having to go back through and check notes and be like, oh, what did we discuss last time? Were you worried about this a year ago? Have you noticed that that helps you in those things?
Dr. Benjamin Ho (16:04):
Oh, tremendously. Tremendously. So you bring up an interesting point, as we all know, you guys being a speech therapist is that early intervention is key. And this applies to not just speech, this applies to everything. Whether you have autism or you need a therapy, things like that. Intervention early on is key. And so for right now, we obviously give lots of questionnaires and those help, but me being able to spend 30 to an hour with the patient, I can actually observe them,
(16:38):
Observe them playing, observe them interacting or not interacting, see how their speeches, it's not just me asking, oh, how's Billy's speech? Is he saying two word senses at two? I can talk to him, I can interact with him, I can watch him interact with his siblings, things like that. And then if I see anything odd that maybe the parents didn't even notice, I can bring it up and go, Hey, I'm a little worried about this, or maybe we should check into this a little bit more. And so just having the time and the familiarity with my patients just allows me to be able to do things that I wasn't able to do before.
Meredith Krimmel (17:20):
Yeah, I think a lot of first time parents might, like you said, not even notice that something is not developing in a typical manner. They don't have anything to compare it to. But if you have a close relationship with your doctor who knows you and isn't just looking back at notes, they might notice something is not progressing the way it should.
Dr. Benjamin Ho (17:36):
Exactly.
Meredith Krimmel (17:36):
And I mean, like you said earlier, intervention is key, and that's why we were founded.
Dr. Benjamin Ho (17:41):
Right, exactly.
Meredith Krimmel (17:41):
That's why we're here. You mentioned that you only have a small panel of patients, so I assume that means you have limited openings. Are you taking new patients or how do
Dr. Benjamin Ho (17:53):
Yeah, we are taking new patients. We just started the program in November, so we're still very new. So thankfully we still have room in our panel. And the future plan is to develop a program here within Kirby, and then as a program expands, I would take on a partner, and then the idea is to continue to spread it to the different clinics around town, to Austin, things like that, because there's definitely a need for this and desire for this program in other parts of Houston as well.
Stephanie Landis (18:32):
I suggest the location on Bel Air, although the pediatricians that we see there are wonderful, and I have fully enjoyed and as best of their ability give and spend and spend the time. But you're right, when you have a patient doc, when a long load up, when they do spend that time, it then just pushes back the later appointments and the later appointments and the later appointments and can be frustrating for both the parents and the pediatrician and the child.
Dr. Benjamin Ho (19:02):
Yeah, no, you're certainly right. I believe that all the pediatricians at Texas Children's are simply amazing, but if you give us more time, we can do more. It is simply a matter of time. And so I have no doubt that all the pediatricians that you guys see, they're amazing. But imagine if they had 30 minutes with you or an hour, and it's just you in the clinic and no one else. I mean, you can bring in an exhaustive list of questions and feel not rushed, and the doctor as well can feel a sense of a relaxed setting just to answer all your questions without a time constraint. How awesome would that be?
Stephanie Landis (19:50):
Yeah. Is that one of the things you feel is beneficial? You said bringing in a long list of questions, we might have a lot of younger parents, new listeners here, or even just parents that are like, oh, I'm starting to notice that things are a little different, or I'm feeling worried about something. From a pediatrician's point of view, what is the most beneficial for you to use that time well, that you have together?
Dr. Benjamin Ho (20:16):
Yeah. Another benefit that I think with the concierge program at times, it's very informal. It doesn't have to be so rigid and schedule. So what I mean by that is this, okay, so typically in the traditional model, you have a certain time limit spot, whatever, it's 20 minutes or average. And so you feel rushed because you have to bring in a list and you go like, oh, I have to ask all these questions, or else I don't know when I can get ahold of him anymore. And so you feel pressure to ask all your questions. And so certainly when you have an hour with a patient, I'm sure whatever list you bring, we will finish the list. But there are also times when after the visit, I mean, I'm sure that this has happened to you guys where you're like, oh, man, I forgot something.
(21:12):
I forgot to ask this question or this question. So then you have to ask the triage nurse, or you send a message, it may come back and a couple days or a few more days, it takes time. But here, all you do is you call and you call and go, oh, hey, Dr. Ho. I totally forgot to ask, what was the cream that you mentioned or what was the place that you said for therapy? Things like that. And so it's very relaxed. They can call me back. It doesn't have to be a visit, or they can message me and I'll message them right back. And so I think those are the benefits of concierge is that I, it's a very relaxed setting.
Stephanie Landis (22:01):
Yeah. I am thinking back to, like you said, again, my daughter's about to turn 11. So as a new mom, I was always on Google. And now younger moms are constantly having Instagram people in their face, giving them advice in the middle of the night, and a lot of contradictory advice coming in. I feel like that would also be beneficial because they already have that relationship with you that they can instead turn to you to ask, Hey, can you help me figure out, I'm getting differing things here or there, even if it's about sleep or food or medications. I mean, you name it. Now, you'll have 37 different opinions on it, on social media.
Dr. Benjamin Ho (22:42):
Right? Right. Yeah. It's definitely a benefit to have someone that and that knows you. Well answer your questions, and you don't have to resort to Google or ask a friend and things like that.
Meredith Krimmel (22:59):
I know. I think when I was a new mom, my son did not sleep ever, and I would use all my time when he was sleeping, Googling why he wouldn't sleep. And so I was getting zero sleep, and I'm like, man, if I could have just sent a text to my pediatrician, I mean, not that everybody was telling me, you need to sleep, but is something wrong? Why won't he sleep? Eventually he did. But it would've been nice to have not just any resource, but a respected, knowledgeable resource at your fingertips.
Dr. Benjamin Ho (23:27):
And sometimes it's just the pediatrician just saying, it's okay, babies don't sleep or babies spit up. It's okay. You can go back to sleep now. Just having that sort of reassuring sort of advice from someone you trust in the middle of the, that's all it takes. Sometimes.
Stephanie Landis (23:47):
Well, at the end of every podcast we ask our guests, we spring a surprise question on them.
Dr. Benjamin Ho (23:52):
Oh, okay.
Stephanie Landis (23:53):
And if you had one piece of advice that you wanted to leave the listeners, and it can be on your particular area of expertise, or it can be like eat your vegetables, it can be anything. If you had one piece of advice to leave, what would you like to give?
Dr. Benjamin Ho (24:07):
Okay. I have two pieces of advice
Stephanie Landis (24:10):
For no, only one. Oh, man. Wow. No, you can give two.
Dr. Benjamin Ho (24:13):
Wow. This is for new parents. Okay. Okay. The first one is, when you're in the hospital, do not feel guilty about using the newborn area. So obviously when you're a new mom or dad, you're always like, oh my gosh, I want to be with my baby 24 7. But you guys remember how tiring it is in the hospital. You're sleep deprived, the baby's just born, maybe some family's there. I mean, it is just nice to just have the nurses take care of the baby just for a couple hours just so you can get some sleep. Reenergize. I just want to tell parents don't feel guilty about asking the nurse, Hey, can you just take the baby just for a couple hours while I just take a cat nap? Or I just take a shower?
Stephanie Landis (25:01):
As soon as you get to sleep, they'll be like, oh, time to check the baby. And you're like, ah. And then the baby gets checked and you go to sleep and they're like, oh, time to check mama. And I'm like, stop checking us. Yes, exactly. Vivid memories.
Dr. Benjamin Ho (25:13):
Okay, good. And then my second piece of advice is, okay, you remember as a newborn, babies are dirty. They spit up, they poop. And so they're clothes, they're bibs, they're onesies, they all get dirty. But my piece of advice is you guys always have extra clothes for the babies, but we always forget about ourselves. So while you're traveling in the car, you should always have extra clothes for yourself, right?
Meredith Krimmel (25:41):
That's such good advice.
Dr. Benjamin Ho (25:42):
So that when they spit up all over you, you don't have to then walk around shirtless everywhere because you don't have any extra clothes or you have you stink of you remember how stinky, especially the formula spit up. So you want at least an extra pair of a shirt or a pair of jeans or something in your car for yourself, not if that happens, when that happens. So that's my two pieces of advice.
Stephanie Landis (26:09):
I distinctly also remember one of the first times flying with my daughter. I, in the checked bag, put a bunch of extra clothes for her, and I think maybe only one t-shirt for me. I don't even know if I had a t-shirt for me. And inevitably, right before we boarded the flight, she spit up all over both of us. And luckily, I was wearing a tiny tank top underneath my T-shirt, but I got to fly in that
(26:31):
Teeny
(26:32):
Tiny tank top because I did not bring back up for myself. And from working at Parrish, I was in the early childhood for years, and I always had extra clothes at work. Oh my gosh. Always,
Meredith Krimmel (26:42):
Always, always.
Stephanie Landis (26:43):
Because inevitably, a kid would pee on your lap while you were sitting there, for sure.
Meredith Krimmel (26:46):
Throw up on you,
Stephanie Landis (26:47):
Throw up other people's kid stuff. So you would think that I would've learned my lesson, but I did not. So that is fantastic advice. It's
Meredith Krimmel (26:53):
Great advice. Both pieces of advice were really about self-care, which
Stephanie Landis (26:57):
As
Meredith Krimmel (26:57):
A new mom is so hard.
Stephanie Landis (26:59):
That's right.
Meredith Krimmel (26:59):
You're always thinking about the baby. You're not really thinking about yourself or a new dad as well. So that's good.
Stephanie Landis (27:04):
Well, thank you so much. I really enjoyed speaking with you today and learning more about this. Yes,
Dr. Benjamin Ho (27:10):
Thank you. No, and thank you so much for the invitation, and certainly if you guys have any other questions about this, you guys can always Google Texas chosen concierge. Certainly my name and our website comes up and my direct number comes up as well. So when you call the number for all those new patients out there, when you call the number, I will answer the phone. There is no manager or receptionist, so don't be
Stephanie Landis (27:34):
Surprised. It's always Dr. Ho.
Dr. Benjamin Ho (27:36):
It's always me. So I will pick up the phone
Stephanie Landis (27:39):
And we will, in our show notes, we'll put links to all of that too.
Dr. Benjamin Ho (27:43):
Great. Thank you so much.
Stephanie Landis (27:44):
Yeah, thank you.
Meredith Krimmel (27:46):
Thank you for listening to the UnBabbled podcast. For more information on today's episode, please see our episode description. For more information on the parish school, visit parish school.org. If you're not already, don't forget to subscribe to the Un Babbled Podcast on your app of choice. And if you like what you're hearing, be sure to leave a rating and review. A special thank you to Joanna Rissmiller and Mackey Torres for all their hard work behind the scenes. Thanks again for listening.