DINO Speak

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I saw this press release called TytoCare and Frontier Health Partner to Provide Virtual-First Primary Care to Individuals and Employees across the United States and was amused. Here is the first paragraph:

TytoCare is partnering with Frontier Health to offer a virtual extension of Frontier Health’s Direct Primary Care offering. Frontier Health is a Texas-based direct primary care organization with nine brick-and-mortar locations and 30,000+ contracted members across the United States. Through this collaboration, members of Frontier’s virtual care extensions will receive a TytoCare Home Smart Clinic device, at no additional cost, to visit their primary care provider virtually with the ability to provide care consistent to its in-person clinic visits.

That’s it in a nutshell. Big whoop. What I love, however, is the DINO Speak. I will highlight some of those terms and phrases used in the rest of the press release:

  • Relationship-Based Primary Care
  • Simulate the in-office experience and quality
  • Relationship-focused primary care 
  • High-engagement model
  • Enhance patient satisfaction
  • Cash-centric primary care program
  • Autonomy to care for the whole person, considering the body as well as the checkbook.

First, I hate gobbledygook and these phrases fall mostly into that category. Second, the whole idea of this TycoCare thing is to “simulate” the in-office experience. Simulate is like the term virtual which means NOT the real thing. It’s just a marketing gimmick.

I decided to check on the Frontier Direct Care team.

  • Eight clinics
  • Four physicians
  • Sixteen NPs or PAs
  • Twenty assistants
  • Twenty-nine administrators in “Headquarters”

ONLY FOUR DOCTORS!! Twenty-nine administrators!!! How many administrators are in your office? This screams DINO. Prove me wrong.

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.