Frequently asked questions.

A model of primary care where patients pay an annual concierge fee and the doctor keeps a much smaller patient list. The smaller list is what makes same or next business day visits, longer appointments and phone access at any hour possible. How it works here.

Concierge medicine is a membership model: you pay an annual fee, the practice keeps its patient list small, and in return you get around-the-clock phone access, same or next-business-day appointments, and visits long enough to cover everything on your mind. It restores the relationship between physician and patient that a high-volume practice has no room for. How it works here.

Mostly in how many patients one doctor looks after. Here, that means appointments the same or next business day instead of weeks, Dr. Shtern at every visit instead of whoever is available, visits as long as they need to be, phone access to the practice around the clock, and labs and ECGs done in the office. Your insurance is still billed for visits and tests. Concierge and traditional care side by side.

No. Direct primary care practices usually do not bill insurance and charge a monthly fee for most primary care. Concierge practices like Legacy Medical bill insurance for visits and tests and charge a separate concierge fee. More on the difference.

It depends on how you use your doctor. People who manage several conditions, see multiple specialists, travel, or simply want to reach their own doctor quickly tend to find it worthwhile. Come to a meet and greet and ask Dr. Shtern directly; she will be straight with you. How concierge medicine works here.

Adults who want one physician to know their whole history; people managing blood pressure, kidney disease, diabetes or several specialists; retirees and seasonal residents who want continuity between Florida and up north; busy professionals who cannot wait weeks for an appointment; and adult children arranging care for a parent. If your care is simple and your current doctor is easy to reach, you may not need a concierge practice, and Dr. Shtern will tell you so.

Yes. Legacy Medical takes no more than 300 members, so that every patient gets as much time as they need. Ask the office whether new members are being accepted right now.

No more than eight, one at a time. She never books two patients into the same slot.

Dr. Yana Shtern, MD is a concierge internist and Nephrologist, board-certified in Internal Medicine and Nephrology. She has practiced for close to twenty years, first in New York City and now in Palm Beach Gardens, where she runs Legacy Medical. Her full background.

Yes. She is the physician for every member and sees each one herself, from the annual physical to a same-day sick visit.

Internal Medicine and Nephrology, both from the American Board of Internal Medicine. You can confirm them on the ABIM verification page.

She earned a BS in Pharmacology at Stony Brook University and her medical degree at St. George’s University School of Medicine in 2007, then completed her Internal Medicine residency and Nephrology fellowship at Maimonides Medical Center in New York City.

She ran a private practice in New York City, served as medical director of an outpatient hemodialysis center, and worked for many years as an Interventional Nephrologist.

Kidney function and blood pressure affect nearly every medication decision an internist makes. Dr. Shtern reads those numbers the way a kidney specialist does, so the kidney side of your care is part of the same visit rather than a separate referral.

She has been a Castle Connolly Top Doctor since 2023 and holds a Healthgrades Patient Favorite award. Profiles and links.

Yan Konevsky, RN runs the office and is a registered nurse. He holds a BSN in nursing from Wagner College and a BBA in finance from Hofstra University, and before Legacy Medical he managed an outpatient hemodialysis center in New York City. Our team.

Start with a complimentary meet and greet with Dr. Shtern. Book a meet and greet or call (561) 834-9280.

A relaxed conversation with Dr. Shtern at the office, to see whether the practice is right for you. You talk about what you want from a doctor and how your care is going now, and she explains how she practices, how members reach her, and what the concierge fee includes.

Yes. It is complimentary.

Nothing. There is no paperwork and nothing to prepare. Bring your questions, and a family member if you like.

Yes. Spouses and adult children are welcome, and couples often meet Dr. Shtern together.

No. There is no pressure to decide in the room. Joining is your decision to make afterward.

You enroll, the office requests your records from your previous doctor, and you book your first patient visit. Every member gets the annual executive physical.

With your permission, the office requests them from your previous doctor when you join. Moving your records.

The practice is deliberately small. Call (561) 834-9280 to ask whether new members are being accepted right now.

Ask at your meet and greet. Dr. Shtern can explain how membership works around your time away. Care for seasonal residents.

There is an annual concierge fee. It covers what insurance will not or may not pay for: the extended annual executive physical, health promotion, and much greater access to your physician. Office visits, services and tests are billed through your insurance, as in a traditional Internal Medicine practice. The fee itself is not published online. Call the office or ask at your meet and greet.

The practice would rather explain it in person, with what it covers, than post a number without context. Ask at your meet and greet or call the office, and it will be gone through in full.

Access and time: a limited patient panel, same or next business day appointments, extended visits, phone access at any hour, the annual executive physical, and Dr. Shtern’s time coordinating your care.

The concierge fee is not insurance. It does not pay for hospital stays, emergency care, specialists, imaging or prescriptions. Keep your health insurance, including Medicare and any supplemental plan.

Yes. The fee does not replace insurance. You still need coverage for hospital care, specialists, imaging, prescriptions and emergencies, and Legacy Medical bills your insurance for office visits and tests.

Yes, for office visits, labs and covered tests. Plans include Medicare, Aetna, Cigna and BlueCross BlueShield. More on insurance and fees.

The practice works with Medicare, Aetna, Cigna and BlueCross BlueShield, among others. Plans change, so call the office to confirm yours.

No. Medicare does not cover concierge fees. Covered services at your visits are billed to Medicare as usual.

Covered services at your visits are billed under your plan’s usual rules, and the concierge fee stays separate. Advantage plans often use regional networks, so ask the office how your particular plan applies before your first visit.

Rules on using health savings or flexible spending accounts for concierge fees are not settled and depend on your plan. Ask your plan administrator or tax adviser before you count on it.

That depends on your situation. A tax adviser can tell you whether it counts as a deductible medical expense for you.

Many plans cover a yearly preventive exam and standard screening labs. Coverage varies, so ask the office how your plan applies. The concierge fee itself is separate from insurance.

Members are seen the same or next business day when something comes up. Routine visits are scheduled at a time that suits you. Same or next day visits.

Yes. Members have phone access to the practice 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including weekends and holidays. In an emergency, always call 911 first.

The practice is available to members by phone 24/7. In-person visits are booked the same or next business day with little to no wait, and telehealth visits are available when coming in is not practical.

The office is closed on weekends, but members can reach the practice by phone at any hour. In an emergency, call 911 first.

Call 911. For chest pain, trouble breathing, stroke symptoms or a blood pressure of 180/120 or higher with symptoms, do not wait to call the office. Members can call the practice afterward, at any hour.

As long as you need. Visits are not booked in 15-minute slots; appointments run about an hour, and longer when your needs call for it.

Very little. Dr. Shtern sees one patient at a time, so time in the waiting room is minimal.

Monday to Thursday 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Friday 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Closed on weekends, with member phone access around the clock.

Yes, for many follow-ups and results reviews. About telehealth.

Reviewing lab results, adjusting blood pressure medicine based on your home readings, checking how a new prescription is going, and many simple sick visits. Dr. Shtern will tell you when an in-person exam is the better choice.

A phone, tablet or computer with a camera and a reasonable internet connection. The office will send you what you need to join.

Telemedicine rules depend on where you are when the visit happens, and physicians generally need a license in that state. Ask the office what applies where you will be.

Same or next business day visits, phone access around the clock, extended visits, the annual executive physical, lab draws and ECGs in the office, rapid flu, COVID-19 and strep tests, telehealth, specialist coordination, medication management, chronic disease management, and preventive care. About membership.

An extended yearly exam: a conversation about your history, your family’s history, your medicines, sleep and exercise, then a full examination, an ECG and blood work drawn in the office. When results are back, you and Dr. Shtern go through them together and you leave with a plan for the year. Preventive care and physicals.

Those programs often run a full day on a hospital campus with a team you will not see again. The annual executive physical here covers the core of that work with your own physician, who adds imaging or specialist testing when your history or results call for it, rather than by default.

No. The Medicare Annual Wellness Visit is mostly a planning conversation and screening questionnaire. A physical includes an examination. Members get the annual executive physical; ask the office how Medicare billing applies to your visits.

Yes. Blood is drawn in the office, and ECGs, stool occult blood tests and rapid flu, COVID-19 and strep tests are done here too. Labs and tests.

Some tests need fasting and many do not. The office will tell you when you book.

Yes, labs and covered tests are billed to your insurance, as they are today.

Imaging and specialized tests are arranged with trusted local providers when you need them, and Dr. Shtern follows up on the results with you.

Colon cancer screening, mammograms, cervical screening, bone density, lung cancer screening for people with a smoking history, and adult vaccines. She arranges the ones done elsewhere and follows up on the results.

Yes. Dr. Shtern is board-certified in Nephrology as well as Internal Medicine. See kidney care and hypertension.

The problems an internist looks after, including blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, kidney and thyroid conditions, infections, and the questions that come with getting older. Chronic care support.

Not as a member. Dr. Shtern is board-certified in Nephrology, so kidney care is part of membership rather than a separate referral.

Yes. Pressure that stays high on several medicines often has a cause worth finding. She works from accurate home readings, reviews every medication and supplement, checks kidney function and electrolytes, and looks for secondary causes. Help for high blood pressure.

Yes. Bring or send your log so the numbers can be reviewed together. How to take an accurate home reading.

Yes. One doctor keeps an eye on every prescription, dose and interaction. A full review often finds a medicine that can be stopped, a dose that can be lowered, or two prescriptions that should not be taken together.

Yes. She starts with a cognitive screen and a careful history, checks for treatable causes, and arranges specialists and imaging when needed. Geriatric and memory care.

No. Dr. Shtern is an internist: a physician trained in the care of adults.

Dr. Shtern coordinates your care the way a quarterback runs a team. She chooses the specialist, contacts them, works with the specialists you already see, and follows up on what they find, so your care stays in one place.

Yes. You keep your specialists, and Dr. Shtern works with them so the plan comes back to one doctor who knows your whole history.

Jupiter Medical Center and Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center.

No. She is affiliated with Jupiter Medical Center and Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, but she does not admit patients herself. While you are in the hospital, hospitalists direct your care. Dr. Shtern stays involved in your care throughout your stay and keeps in touch with the doctors treating you.

Dr. Shtern sees you for a follow-up visit at Legacy Medical after you are discharged. Concierge care and a hospital stay.

Yes, once your parent has given permission naming you. The office can help with the form. For families.

With your parent’s permission, Dr. Shtern can update you by phone, and members and the family helping them can reach the practice at any hour.

Two documents save a great deal of trouble later: a HIPAA authorization naming who the practice may speak with, and, in Florida, a designation of a health care surrogate who can make medical decisions if your parent cannot. An elder law attorney can help with the details.

Yes. Many members are seasonal residents. With your permission, the office requests records from your physicians up north and can send notes and results back to them. Care between seasons.

Members can call the practice at any hour. Many follow-ups can be done by video, depending on where you are.

Original Medicare works with participating doctors anywhere in the country, while Medicare Advantage plans usually use regional networks, which matters if you see doctors in two states. Medicare when you live in two states.

11380 Prosperity Farms Road, Suite 114, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410, on the first floor. See directions.

From I-95, take the PGA Boulevard exit east, then turn north on Prosperity Farms Road. From US-1, head west on PGA Boulevard and turn north.

Yes. Suite 114 is a first-floor suite with accessible entry.

The office is in the heart of Palm Beach Gardens, and members come from Jupiter, Juno Beach, Tequesta, Hobe Sound, Stuart, North Palm Beach, Palm Beach and West Palm Beach. Drive times from each town.

Call (561) 834-9280 or email info@legacymedicalpalmbeach.com. The fax is (561) 834-9279. Please keep medical details out of email and web forms and call instead.

Refills for established patients are issued during regular office hours. Request them through the patient portal or by calling (561) 834-9280, and ask a few days before you run out so there is no gap in your medication.

Yes. Ask the office for access when you join.

The practice follows HIPAA. Its Notice of Privacy Practices explains how your information is used and your rights, and the website privacy policy covers this site.