FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)
What is Direct Primary Care?
Direct Primary Care (DPC) is an affordable model of healthcare that emphasizes the direct relationship between doctor and patient and removes middle-men (like insurance companies) from the healthcare equation. DPC practices tend to be small in size and more flexible and adaptable to patients’ needs.
What are the advantages of Direct Primary Care?
Below is a comparison of seeing a DPC doctor versus a doctor employed by a large healthcare organization:
| Employed doctor | DPC doctor | |
|---|---|---|
| Patient panel size | 2,000 – 4,000 | 200 – 800 |
| Patients seen per day | 20 – 40 | 2-10 |
| Wait time to be seen | Minutes to hours | Usually none |
| Visit time | 5 – 15 minutes | Up to 60 minutes |
| Scheduling visits | Limited to business hours, must schedule weeks to months in advance | Flexible hours, availablity on weekends and holidays, same-day visits available |
| Telephone calls and messages handled by? | Call center | Your doctor |
| House visits available? | No | Yes |
| Co-pays and billing | Co-pay required for each visit, and additional billing for visits determined by insurance company and mailed to you. | One flat monthly fee whether you have insurance or not. No co-pays, no surprise bills. |
| Pricing for labs, imaging, and other in-office services | Complicated, determined by your insurance provider, and billed after the service is provided. | Simple, affordable, and up-front. You determine if the service is within your budget. |
| Doctor’s typical mood | Tired, frustrated, robotic. | Happy and relaxed! |
What is the difference between concierge medicine and Direct Primary Care?
Concierge medicine is also a low-volume, more personal model of primary care, but concierge practices will typically bill your insurance company for services (hello, Explanation of Benefit letters!) and generally require a higher monthly or annual fee for access to your physician ($1500-10,000 per year).
What are your hours?
Currently, appointments are being made by request and as available.
Where is your office?
We are currently making house calls only, but we will establish a physical location once finances can support this.
Why did my primary care provider quit? What is going on with primary care these days?
Modern primary care predominantly takes place within the context of large HCOs (healthcare organizations) that involve not only your doctor but an enormous contingent of invisible, behind-the-scenes agents such as billers and coders, business administrators, insurance company agents, pharmacy benefit managers, and even private equity firms. Although these entities may claim to make healthcare services more efficient and economical, most patients would beg to differ. Many primary care providers are also frustrated with the medical industrial complex and are quitting because of moral injury and loss of autonomy; this is not how they envisioned caring for people.
Do I need to keep my health insurance plan?
Although we will not bill your health insurance company for any services we render, we encourage all patients, both insured or uninsured, to have some type of health insurance in case you require medical services by entities outside of our practice (eg. emergency services, hospitalization, surgery, care from specialists).
Do I need health insurance to see you?
You do not need a health insurance plan to see us. We are happy to see anyone, regardless of whether you are insured or not.
Will you see me if I am on Medicare or Medicaid?
At this time, we are not accepting patients on Medicare or Medicaid plans. Once our patient panel is built up to a certain level, we may be able to see Medicare and Medicaid patients. .
