Orchard Health Care is the membership practice for primary care medicine founded in 2006 by Steven R. Kanner, MD, a highly credentialed and experienced internist, to provide comprehensive, scientifically up-to-the-minute and personalized medical care. Dr. Karen T. Isselbacher, also a highly credentialed and experienced internist, joined Dr. Kanner in Fall 2008.
Dr. Kanner [see bio] is a graduate and long-term faculty member of Harvard Medical School and several of its major teaching hospitals. Dr. Isselbacher [see bio] is a graduate of Boston University School of Medicine who trained at Harvard teaching hospitals and who also has been a long-term faculty member of Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Kanner’s and Dr. Isselbacher’s goal is to keep their patients healthy. Their clinical approach [more] is proactive and focuses on health maintenance and careful control of unavoidable medical illnesses using evidence-based best practices. Office appointments are 30 to 60 minutes, longer whenever needed. Members who are infirm can be seen at home. [see Member Benefits]
Each member receives regular, individualized guidance on preventive care and life-style improvement. They may also attend the practice’s small group seminars to help them deal successfully with such difficult behavioral issues as proper nutrition and weight management. Additionally, members have access to the Orchard Health Care blogs where Dr. Kanner’s and Dr. Isselbacher’s commentaries explain, simplify and put in context current medical issues and developments reported in the professional and lay press.
Orchard Health Care patients may easily communicate with Dr. Kanner and Dr. Isselbacher by phone and e-mail in addition to in-person visits. The experienced office staff [more] work to simplify the logistics of referrals and tests required by the patient.
When acute or serious illness arises, the member is usually seen the same day. Dr. Kanner or Dr. Isselbacher personally treats the patient or arranges and supervises help from top-flight specialist colleagues at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center or other Harvard teaching hospitals [see Affiliations]. Each doctor carefully discusses the patient’s problems with the involved consultants as well as with the patient.
Dr. Kanner and Dr. Isselbacher affiliate with the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and accept essentially the same health insurance plans as BIDMC [see Health Insurance] for clinical care.
To enable this level of individualized attention and related benefits, Orchard Health Care limits each physician’s patients to approximately 450 adults and their children 16 and older.
Membership in Orchard Health Care requires payment of an annual fee [more], separate from normal office medical care insurance charges. Membership fees paid by the member to Orchard Health Care, LLC are solely for the member benefits [more] that are provided, or arranged to be provided, by Orchard Health Care. The membership fee does not cover or pay for any of the clinical care provided by Dr. Kanner or Dr. Isselbacher or their practice, Steven R. Kanner, MD, LLC, or any items or services covered by the member’s health plan.
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Join Orchard Health Care and have access to this member-driven section where Dr. Kanner and Dr. Isselbacher discuss medical questions of general interest submitted to them by members as well as importnat medical developments reported in professional journals and the lay press.
Dr. Kanner’s blog provides Orchard Health Care members regular analytical commentary on current medical and biological issues and events
Members may access a wide variety of Dr. Kanner’s writings targeted to patients on issues of health care and self-help, such as: