FAQs

Yes. Though most hospitals now utilize Hospitalists to manage your in-patient care, Dr. Zich will follow you closely in the hospital during your stay. He reviews your medical chart, notes, vital signs, and nursing documentation daily. He will also speak with you regularly throughout your stay. This allows him to personally keep updated on your progress, answer any questions you have, and directly contact the in-patient team to coordinate your care as needed.

As one individual there will be rare situations where Dr. Zich is simply not reachable. In these circumstances, Devin Murray, his Nurse Practitioner, will cover his calls or see you in the office. Devin is loved by Dr. Zich’s patients and has developed the same practice style as Dr. Zich. In his absence, she communicates your needs and her plan to him so that you still benefit from Dr. Zich’s knowledge base, complimenting the personal care Devin provides.

You are given his email and personal cell phone number to contact him directly. NOTE:  Patients should never contact Devin, the Nurse Practitioner, after hours unless explicitly instructed to do so by Dr. Zich.

Dr. Zich is affiliated with both Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Rush University Hospitals, with his closest association with Northwestern Medicine. However, Dr. Zich’s practice is independent and will refer you to the best specialist in the area or the country depending on your specific needs. He currently has patients who also see specialists at University of Chicago, Loyola, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, and MD Anderson, to name a few.  

Dr. Zich has patients not only throughout the greater Chicago area, but throughout the country and abroad. It is therefore not possible to guarantee house calls for every circumstance. However, house calls have been done in very special circumstances when time and geography allows.

No. Medicare and insurance companies do not cover the yearly membership fee.

This varies by plan, but many FSA accounts will cover the membership fee.

No. A fee is due for office visits at the time of each visit, but typically is no more than $100 to $375. Depending on your insurance provider, a significant amount of this fee may be reimbursed directly to you by your insurance company. This cost includes not only the doctor’s fee, but also any testing such as EKG’s or labs that are done. Any expensive testing such as MRI’s, CT scans, or procedures are done at hospitals, or outpatient facilities that would be chosen based on your insurance coverage. These are all reimbursed directly by your insurance company according to the policies and contracts with the respective facility.

Dr. Zich is a Medicare Provider but his office does not file directly with other insurance companies. However, all necessary paperwork is given to you, the patient, to submit to your insurance carrier. They will reimburse money directly to you based on their fee schedule for an out-of-network provider.

As a private practice, independent doctor, there needs to be an additional clinically trained medical professional available as backup in the rare case Dr. Zich is unavailable. Traditionally, this has been fulfilled by another doctor who had no personal knowledge of Dr. Zich’s patients but could provide a medical opinion in an emergency situation.  Now, Dr. Zich has Devin, a Certified Nurse Practitioner who was carefully chosen based on her training, interpersonal skills, and clinical expertise. Her job is to  become familiar with each patient in the practice, and know how Dr. Zich handles individual medical issues. 

This way, if Dr. Zich is ever unavailable due to lectures, vacation, illness, etc., you do not have to rely on a doctor you’ve never met who has no knowledge of you as an individual.  Instead, Devin is there to expertly address your needs in a manner similar to how Dr. Zich would approach the problem, and she then makes Dr. Zich aware of everything that goes on when he is available.  

The role of Devin, our Nurse Practitioner, in the concierge practice is a little different than in a general clinical setting.  You will NEVER request an appointment with Dr. Zich and be told you will be seeing Devin instead. 

However, if Dr. Zich is booked with patients or otherwise unavailable at the exact time you would like to be seen, you can request to see Devin for your convenience, in which case you are charged a lower rate than if you were seeing Dr. Zich.  As with all nurse practitioners, Devin discusses her findings and plan with Dr. Zich so he is aware of the care that is provided.  

Dr. Zich is ALWAYS who you should call after hours unless he is sick or unreachable at a conference, on a plane, etc.  These situations are very rare.  You will always have direct access to Dr. Zich both with his cell phone and his email.

Devin is here not only as a backup medical expert, but to improve communication and follow up, expedite medication refills, and facilitating tests and appointments when necessary. During business hours, feel free to reach out to her directly with questions about medications, refills, prior authorization for testing, or even clinical questions you have if you feel comfortable. She consults with Dr. Zich between patients on all issues she needs to clarify, and you can still request a callback from Dr. Zich at any time.  Any issues you do not feel comfortable talking with Devin about will be given to Dr. Zich to respond between patients, just as he did prior to Devin’s arrival.  

IMPORTANT FINAL POINTS:  Dr. Zich did NOT increase the number of patients in his practice once Devin joined and he did NOT reduce the hours he is available.  As Nurse Practitioner, Devin’s role is to increase the efficiency of the practice, provide better clinical backup for Dr. Zich, improve follow up, create more timely communication and provide an additional access point to the pinnacle of quality care.