WHat is Direct Primary Care?
Direct Primary Care (DPC) is medicine the way it should be.
Have you ever called your physician with a concern and were unable to get an appointment with your own physician until day or even weeks later? Have you ever been sent to urgent care because there were no available appointments that day? Have you felt like you just wanted to have a quick phone call with your physician to review something but weren’t able to? Do you feel like your appointments with your doctor are sometimes too short and feel rushed? Have you sat through long wait times in the waiting room or exam room before the appointment has even begun?
These are all the frustrations that everyone has struggled with in the current insurance-based model of healthcare. Direct primary care addresses these concerns and improves the experience for everybody involved.
Direct primary care is similar to how medicine was practiced in the past but with some modern twists. Imagine a physician who knows you and your whole family and is only a call, text or email away? For a small monthly subscription fee usually less than the cost of your cellphone bill, you can have direct access to your doctor. By taking insurance and the middle people out of the equation, we keep overhead low and provide more focused care and attention to our patients. This means less patients in the practice and more time for visits and more accessibility. This means same-day or next-day appointments with YOUR physician; not a physician or clinician whom you have never met before. Visits can be in person, by video call or even by telephone, depending on the situation that you need to be seen for, because there are times when we it is best to do a physical exam. You also will have the ability to text and email regarding things that you just don’t need a visit for which saves you time and money. There is no copay for any of these visits or interactions because it is all included in your membership fee, allowing you to know your health care costs upfront, with the exception of the rare emergency situation. When paired with the right insurance plan, this system can often save you money.
Does the above sound too good to be true? Well it’s not! Removing insurance from the primary care payment allows for more control over the the number of patients cared for in the practice. At a typical primary care practice, you’re likely 1 of 2000 or more patients but in a direct primary care practice, like Maple Family Health, there will typically only be 600-700 patients total. This is how it is possible to have longer appointments, 30-60 minutes or more, depending on the situation and allows for more availability of your physician.
Being a member means price transparency for your healthcare needs. As noted above, that means NO MORE COPAYS for office visits. Typically 80% or more of medical issues that arise can be handled in a primary care office. You will know what the costs are for any additional services before they are provided (pathology services for biopsies, pap smears, etc).
Direct primary care physicians also strive to get the best prices on labs, imaging and medications for their patients. This is yet another benefit of being a member.