As much as they try, private equity and big tech will NOT put doctors out of business. Sorry. Here is another article postulating this with the title Is the doctor’s office heading for extinction? Here are some of their points:

• When it comes to where Americans prefer to receive their care, retail clinics, virtual health, and community centers are all growing in popularity, according to a survey from the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions. These changes reflect patient preferences to have health care be more similar to other consumer retail experiences.
• There is a growing desire to use retail clinics, and this is especially true among underserved populations, according to the survey. Only 10% of consumers have used a retail clinic in the past year, but many more say the would be “likely to” or “maybe would” use retail clinics for preventive care (55%) or mental health care (47%). Black, Asian, and Hispanic respondents were more likely than White respondents to use retail clinics, and urban respondents were more likely than rural ones.
• Virtual care, which became popular during the worst months of the pandemic, continues to be popular with patients. Nearly three in four consumers with Medicaid (74%) or HIX plans (73%) would use virtual health for mental health visits, and nearly two-thirds of all consumers would use virtual visits for preventive care.

Imagine convincing venture capitalists to put in billions to start these companies with only 10% usage? Amazingly enough, it’s working. Well, kind of. Money is going into these retail start-ups but they are losing more than they make.

The doctor’s office is not going extinct. Why? Because Direct Primary Care clinics, run by MDs or DOs, are over 90% successful (actually failure rate has never been ascertained). And DPCs see patients urgently. They do virtual care via telemedicine. They see Medicaid patients because it is affordable. Lastly, the doctors and the patients LOVE it!

We only wish more capital, without the massive greed by VC, was put into those doctors starting their own DPC and DSC practices. All they need is a little seed money. Elon, where are you?

“For a tree to become tall it must grow tough roots among the rocks.”

— Friedrich Nietzsche