How Many DPC Docs Are Being Paid By Big Pharma?

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Direct Primary Care Doc and Drug Rep

There is a website called What are drug companies paying your doctor? How many of you are on there? I will bet very few Direct Primary Care Doctors are. Now, to be fair, there is a disclaimer:

Read this first. A reported payment is not evidence of wrongdoing. 91% of all 87,655,770 reported payments in this data are food and beverage — typically a meal during a product presentation — and they account for just 9.2% of the money. Royalties go to physicians who invented a device; research money usually passes through the doctor to a hospital. The useful question is never “did they take money” but “what kind, how much, and how does that compare with their peers” — which is what every page here is built to show.

Ok, so drug lunches are listed as a payment on this site.

Do we really need to be taking food from drug reps anymore? My gut tells me DPC docs are not. So….can you use this to educate (market) to patients? Tell them how you are NOT on the list and are not beholden to Big Pharma? I think it is a valid approach.

DPC docs, who now have agency over their practice and life, tend NOT to need food given to them by drug reps. That is an important distinction. We also don’t push newfangled drugs that don’t change the treatment plan by much. We are aware of the finances involved. Do not harm vs. do no financial harm.

This is another win for DPC. We don’t even need a law to expose us.

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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.