Be Careful Who You Spam

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This was the subject line:

Facing Rising Healthcare Costs? Discover How DPC Can Be a Game-Changer for Employers and Providers

Right off the rip, I was irritated. Providers. DPC started with physicians and is made to be run by physicians. Now “others” are glomming on but that’s an issue for another day. The point is that I hate being called a provider. Oh, and why are they pitching me at my support email for DPCN? I guess they scraped the email off the web or a list but still. Here is the rest:

Hello Douglas,

Employers are facing massive headwinds in hopes of continuing to provide healthcare to their employees. Double-digit premium increases and regulatory changes recently enacted are driving the need for change.

If you are an individual primary care practice or a large regional network, we would like to introduce an opportunity to learn how moving to alternative reimbursement through a direct primary care (DPC) model can be a game-changer.

Collaborative Healthcare Partners partnered with Liberty University (7,000 employees and over 100,000 students) in 2019, developed a DPC network for students and employees of the university, and have realized tremendous success.


Take a look at our brief video providing background on the model. If you are interested in learning more, please reach out to Jennifer Warner ([email protected]) to learn more.

All the best,
Brandon Goldstein
Strategic Business Initiatives  
Schedule a meeting

First, I am retired so no, I am not looking for an opportunity. Second, I took that opportunity in 2014 and made it very successful without them. Collaborative Healthcare Partners is in my town.

Now for some history.

This organization is an offshoot of the large local family practice group here (CVFP or Central Virginia Family Practice). I did a year of independent contract work for them while I was readying my DPC practice. They did NOT treat me well but it gave me a cushion. The head doctor of the whole group is the one who gave me the “Be Well” response to my long email thanking them for the year of work. After I left they wanted no part of me. They were pissed I did DPC. Not one of them talked to me ever again. Over the years, they tried doing DPC multiple times and it kept failing. When Dr. Andrew Anderson left them to do DPC (I helped him to escape) they never spoke to him again either. Also, when I started my practice, I had a connection to Liberty University and they allowed me to offer their students DPC memberships. I mentioned this in my book. By year three, CVFP worked with Liberty to squash my program and made it their own. With that in mind, here is my response to the above email:

Wow, Brandon, that’s awesome!!!  It’s funny because I started Forest DPC in 2014.  I actually had a program for Liberty students the first two years until CVFP worked with Liberty to steal it.  I have forgotten more about DPC than you guys know at Collaborative Healthcare Partners. Right now Kaya Health, Forest DPC, and Bedford DPC are all thriving.  You (CVFP and CHP) are not.  But keep trying and then tell them to read one of my three books and then get in touch with me.  I will help them out for free. 

Douglas Farrago, MD

Yes, I was quite pissy when I responded but I don’t regret it. Here is what I received.

Thanks so much for the feedback.  You will be removed from any further communications from our company.  I’ll tell the folks at CHP you said hello.

Good luck,

Brandon Goldstein

VP, New Business Lines/H3 Initiatives

This “solution”, as they call it, is a DINO in my own hometown. There are now three REAL DPC practices. This DINO can pretend to be DPC all they want but all they are doing is hijacking the concept and the name. This is a line from their website:

All of this has been achieved through an advanced direct primary care program.

Advanced? My ass.

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 but continues to receive care there as a patient.