Let me welcome you to 2023 with a DPC Alliance update:

DPC continues to flourish, and none of us are surprised. Who could be surprised about the success of a movement of rebellious physicians resisting the medical cash-machine – a group of docs who have this crazy idea to treat patients the way they’d want to be treated? A group of doctors who are happy, who help each other, give their patients time to work toward wellness and prevention, rather than just doing sick care? Of course, we’re thriving! To be honest, it would be more surprising to see us fail.

2022 was a year of growth and change for us. In August we hired a new interim executive director, Dr. Tiffany Leonard. After months of interviews, the Board of Directors ultimately hired her to the position of Executive Director in November. TIffany’s organization and attention to detail is already bearing loads of fruit for the organization. Unfortunately, fruit is high in carbs, so we’re working toward her bearing loads of jerky. But one thing at a time, we all have room for personal growth.

In 2022 we pulled off the largest in-person DPC conference in the history of the universe. The DPC Summit was back in-person and did not disappoint. We did a 3-track conference with content for newcomers, growers, and a medical track for veterans who didn’t need the practice management content. “Something for everybody.” 2023’s DPC Summit plans are already well underway and it will be even better. We are adding a full hands-on workshop track. The conference will be in Minneapolis, MN, June 15-18, and will make last year’s conference look like a mandatory hospital staff meeting that’s going late on a Friday afternoon where the CEO keeps saying “synergy” and “leverage our core competencies”.

Beyond our never-ending DPCA-Summit-Improvement goal, the Board of Directors is dedicating resources to two main focus areas for 2023. The first is the improvement of our website. Our goal is to not only have a fantastic, searchable, mapping-enabled member database, and we’re thinking even bigger potential exists to serve patients with this in the future. This is a time and money-intensive goal but is worthwhile.

The second area of focus for growth is the RaMS department. This is our Resident and Medical Student outreach. We have a vested interest in getting the good news of DPC out to those just starting their careers. In 2022 the membership voted for an organizational bylaws change that added resident and medical student members to the DPCA Board of Directors. Our first RaMS board members were elected in November and start in January. 

Although they and the young members they help recruit will help us navigate the ever-changing landscape of medical education, nothing helps to spread the promise of DPC like YOU. Local physicians showing students and residents that medical practice CAN be what they always dreamed of, and their souls need not be crushed by the machine. With that in mind, the DPCA will also be working on resources to make it easier for you to get involved in reaching future generations of doctors right in your own clinic.

Lastly, the Board spends time at every meeting discussing the future of DPC and our role in it. If you’ve followed my recent editorials on DPC News, you know that I could write a book on this topic, so I won’t start now.  Just know that we are with you, and we are for you. The future is bright!

Patients first.