Foster’s Daily Democrat out of Portsmouth, NH recently reported on a pediatric practice that has joined the ranks of Direct Primary Care. Kelly Parker-Mello, MD, FAAP and Sherry Pleau, PNP operate Tailored Pediatric Medicine. Sometimes the term concierge is used, but Parker-Mello prefers the term Direct Primary Care.

I and others in the medical field were very resistant to the idea of concierge medicine, seeing it as something for the wealthy. DPC is similar, but strives to offer affordable access for everyone.

Dr. Parker-Mellon had previously practiced in a traditional, private pediatric practice, but she soon realized that she did not want to practice medicine in this type of system for the rest of her career.

After my residency, I joined a private practice, said Parker-Mello. I quickly realized I couldn’t do this for the next 20 years. What I saw was a high-speed treadmill, where we just churned over patient after patient. I can’t be effective in 10 or 20 minutes, I don’t know how it is done. To me, it was not sustainable and I felt there had to be a better way.

Dr. Parker -Melon educates the community about what DPC is when they inquire about Tailored Pediatric Medicine:

DPC is a simplified model of primary care for your children, where you pay us directly for your child’s all-inclusive care.  We believe that by removing third-party payers (insurance companies,) you get more access to us, better medical care, and a stronger patient-provider relationship.  DPC provides patients and families with longer appointments, more convenient care, and better education to be empowered as parents and healthy growing young people. Our goal is to provide patient and family-centered care, that is unrushed, thoughtful, and personalized to your child.

It is interesting to see how pediatric, in addition to family medicine, practices are joining the DPC movement.