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.
One thought on “How I Respond to the Ivory Tower Doctors Who Complain About DPC Docs Abandoning Patients While They Have Never Seen One”
Shows how narrow minded and stupid the ITDs are. As I’ve said before, “DPC won’t work everywhere.” Go to a place with a high percentage of public aid/poor and a DPC practice will fail. That patient group will go to the practices in town that accept medicaid and medicare for that matter. Oh and the folks who get insurance through their workplace that covers for routine visits and labs (there are a few of them out there still) will resent paying a monthly fee for something their employer says is covered. Also I suspect most DPC practices are office only and in some areas (rural), patients expect “their doctor” to take care of them in the hospital. The system is a’changing I realize as in even moderate size towns, hospitalists have taken over and FP’s, I.M. people aren’t allowed to do hospital practice. I practiced in a rural area in the same practice my entire career. I did office, hospital work and took call. Most new docs want to work in the office and go home at the end of seeing patients. The practice I worked at still has the docs do full scope practice and you know what? It’s a magnet for young docs coming out of residency who want to do that model still! They have no problem recruiting.
I say that one needs to be very careful in scoping out the demographic area they want to setup a DPC practice.
I believe the ideal situation would be a group of independent DPC docs in an area who are screaming for help due to patient volume. THAT would be the IDEAL situation to locate! A group of docs wanting to help a colleague setup a DPC practice to help with the patient load.
Disclosure: I never was in a DPC practice. It wouldn’t work in the area I was in and I didn’t want to move as my family would have killed me first rather than leaving the area. I still think it’s an attractive model though.
Shows how narrow minded and stupid the ITDs are. As I’ve said before, “DPC won’t work everywhere.” Go to a place with a high percentage of public aid/poor and a DPC practice will fail. That patient group will go to the practices in town that accept medicaid and medicare for that matter. Oh and the folks who get insurance through their workplace that covers for routine visits and labs (there are a few of them out there still) will resent paying a monthly fee for something their employer says is covered. Also I suspect most DPC practices are office only and in some areas (rural), patients expect “their doctor” to take care of them in the hospital. The system is a’changing I realize as in even moderate size towns, hospitalists have taken over and FP’s, I.M. people aren’t allowed to do hospital practice. I practiced in a rural area in the same practice my entire career. I did office, hospital work and took call. Most new docs want to work in the office and go home at the end of seeing patients. The practice I worked at still has the docs do full scope practice and you know what? It’s a magnet for young docs coming out of residency who want to do that model still! They have no problem recruiting.
I say that one needs to be very careful in scoping out the demographic area they want to setup a DPC practice.
I believe the ideal situation would be a group of independent DPC docs in an area who are screaming for help due to patient volume. THAT would be the IDEAL situation to locate! A group of docs wanting to help a colleague setup a DPC practice to help with the patient load.
Disclosure: I never was in a DPC practice. It wouldn’t work in the area I was in and I didn’t want to move as my family would have killed me first rather than leaving the area. I still think it’s an attractive model though.