Wed. Apr 24th, 2024

You never know how much goodwill you create until you give things away for free. That’s what makes DPC Doctors so special. They are always helping each other. Yes, I have three books that I sell but, trust me, you don’t make very much money on them with a very small direct primary care market. Personally, I have always tried to give my time away on such platforms as this or even with personal phone calls. I believe in the greater good of spreading the DPC gospel so the market can grow and the heathcare system improves. It’s really that simple. That’s why I helped start the DPC Alliance so that there a tighter community and an official voice to DPC. No doctor working for the DPCA gets paid. That’s important.

Giving away things is really important for your practice as well. Doing free lectures to educate the public is an example. You are teaching (that’s what a doctor does) and therefore helping people in the audience. If they become patients then awesome. If not then you can still feel good about what you did. There are tons of other ways to give value away. You can volunteer at school events or road races or charities. Will it get you patients? Of course, but that isn’t the point. You did a good deed and gave away your time for free. Only good karma comes from that. Does this make sense?

Do you have other ways to give something away? Other examples to give your time away for free to the community? Please leave some examples in the comments so other DPC docs may learn from you. In a meta way you are giving something away free here and the good Karma circle continues.

8070cookie-checkMarketing Tip: Give Value
(Visited 19 times, 1 visits today)

By Douglas Farrago, MD

Douglas Farrago MD is board certified in the specialty of Family Practice. He is the inventor of a product called the Knee Saver which is currently in the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Knee Saver and its knock-offs are worn by many major league baseball catchers. He is also the inventor of the CryoHelmet used by athletes for head injuries as well as migraine sufferers. From 2001 – 2011, Dr. Farrago was the editor and creator of the Placebo Journal which ran for 10 full years. Described as the Mad Magazine for doctors, he and the Placebo Journal were featured in the Washington Post, US News and World Report, the AP, and the NY Times. Douglas Farrago, MD received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Virginia in 1987, his Masters of Education degree in the area of Exercise Science from the University of Houston in 1990, and his Medical Degree from the University of Texas at Houston in 1994. His residency training occurred way up north at the Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, Maine. In his final year, he was elected Chief Resident by his peers. Dr. Farrago has practiced family medicine for twenty-three years, first in Auburn, Maine and now in Forest, Virginia. He founded Forest Direct Primary Care in 2014, which quickly filled in 18 months. Dr. Farrago still blogs every day on his website Authenticmedicine.com and lectures worldwide about the present crisis in our healthcare system and the effect it has on the doctor-patient relationship. Dr. Farrago’s has written three 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 and Slowing the Churn in Direct Primary Care (While Also Keeping Your Sanity) are all best sellers in this genre. He is a leading expert in direct primary care model and lectures medical students, residents, and doctors on how to start their own DPC practice. He retired from clinical medicine in October, 2020.

One thought on “Marketing Tip: Give Value”
  1. Great article! Doing my part in giving back by creating and hosting “My DPC Story” a podcast where DPC and direct specialty care physicians share their stories! That said, none of the guests are paid so each of them is giving back by sharing their story as well! Interviews can be found at mydpcstory.com.

Comment Here and Join the Discussion