DPC Keeps Getting Media Attention

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I just wanted to highlight some great stories about DPC and the doctors who run those clinics. Here are three:

With US health care costs skyrocketing, these doctors are ditching insurance for a subscription-based model — is this the future of care?

For Dr. Chris McCarthy and Dr. Jerome Aya-Ay, co-founders of Palmetto Proactive in Spartanburg, South Carolina, this means embracing Direct Primary Care (DPC) — a health care approach to bypass insurance altogether.

“It’s kind of like Netflix,” McCarthy told Fox Carolina. “You can watch as many shows as you want or no shows. So you can come to the office as often as you need and there is no barrier.”

How direct primary care medicine can help cure employee absenteeism

When I asked Dr. Debbie Daniels, owner of Riverfront Medicine, why she sold her traditional practice to become a Direct Primary Care physician, she shared, “I spent more time on insurance than with patients, and now I don’t need to wait for insurance approvals before I treat patients. I get to spend as much time with my patients as they need to get to the root of their problem and not just treat the symptoms. When labs are needed, we simply charge our cost plus $1.”

I asked if she was really more available to patients. She answered fervently, ” I am 100% more available to my patients. My practice exists for the convenience of our patients. I even make house calls when necessary. If you need to come in, come on in. If you want to call and discuss your issue, I can assess your need over the phone and send a prescription to your pharmacy right away.

Direct primary care model continues to catch on in Maine

Dr. Jennifer Beall loves being at patients’ bedside, but she was close to burning out for good.

“I had about 1,600 patients when I left, and they wanted to double that,” Beall said. “I was already drinking through a firehose.”

She was also overwhelmed by a mountain of paperwork, leaving her little time to spend with her patients.

Less than a year ago, she left an extensive medical practice in Greater Portland and started Casco Bay Direct Primary Care with another primary care physician, Dr. Leigh Ann Higgins.

“They want time in the office with their physician,” Higgins explained. “Or they want to know if they have a problem, you can call them back or they can text you. It’s all about having a relationship with your patient.”

Congrats to all of you great doctors for keeping DPC in the news!

About Douglas Farrago, MD

Dr. Farrago is a retired family physician based in Forest, Virginia. Since 2021, he has run DPCnews.com, a leading resource for the Direct Primary Care (DPC) movement. He is the author of three best-selling books on Direct Primary Care: The Official Guide to Starting Your Own Direct Primary Care Practice The Direct Primary Care Doctor’s Daily Motivational Journal Slowing the Churn in Direct Primary Care (While Also Keeping Your Sanity) In 2016, Dr. Farrago conceived the idea for the Direct Primary Care Alliance and co-founded the organization alongside other pioneering DPC physicians. He is widely recognized as a leading expert in the DPC model and frequently lectures to medical students, residents, and practicing physicians on how to successfully start and run their own DPC practices.Dr. Farrago sold his Direct Primary Care practice in October 2020 but continues to receive care there as a patient.