In a recent issue of Isthmus, the surge in direct primary care offices is highlighted showing there is a need for this type of care and that there is definitely room for more than one DPC physician in town!
Dr. Nicole Hemkes opened her first office of Advocate MD in 2019. She then opened the Fair Oaks Avenue practice, adding a second physician, Dr. Adam Balin. She hopes to add a third office location with a third physician. Currently Hemkes and Balin split their time between the east and west locations.
Since Hemkes started Advocate MD in 2019, much has happened to make patients feel increasingly at sea in the health care system. Legal threats to the Affordable Care Act continue, and health insurance costs remain a burden for many Americans. COVID-19 limited the ability of primary care providers to see patients; the virtual doctor visit reigns.
DPC News recently announced the practice opening of Dr. Amanda Preimesberger’s Roots MD on March 1 in Verona.
Preimesberger knows that it will take time to get 450 patients, but she is confident: “It’s not going to happen overnight, but it is a long game that requires a little patience. There is financial risk to me doing that, but I believe in it so much.”
Adding to the direct primary care offerings int the area is be Dr. Wendy Molaska who will begin seeing patients on April 5th at Dedicated Family Care in Fitchburg.
Patients, she says, are “fed up” with the length of time it can take in the big systems to get to see their own doctors, and the short visits when they do. Direct primary care offers her the opportunity to “do medicine the way I like to do medicine.
Looks like the message of Direct Primary Care is spreading, especially in the Madison, WI area! Best of luck to all of you. Keep us posted on your growth.