Texarkana Gazette recently reported on the opening of Rife Pediatrics in Linden, Texas. Bethany Rife, MD worked in the standard healthcare setting for 7 years in Tomball, TX, her hometown, before deciding in 2020 that she wanted to practice medicine without the interference of insurance companies. That’s when she decided to start a DPC Pediatric Clinic in Tomball. Today, Dr. Rife and works in northern Texas in Linden, about four hours away from Tomball, but she has still been able to maintain her practice in her hometown even after moving away. To do so, she has developed her clinic into a telemedicine practice, and she travels back a few days each month to see patients in person.

Dr. Rife now also has a telemedicine-DPC practice in Linden, which opened this past January. She and her husband and four children moved to the Linden area because of the affordability of land in the area because the family is also planning on doing farming as well.

So, how does the combination of Pediatric telemedicine and DPC actually work over two practices in two cities four hours away? Dr. Rife sums it up:

My day is to be home in the morning for kids and messages from patients. There may be calls asking how to manage that child that day. In the afternoon, I catch up on non-emergency calls, paperwork and helping my husband with farm stuff.

That’s one to two hours per day on the practice, although it’s sometimes a lot more, sometimes less. But it allows me to be there for my family as well as patients.

But it works beautifully. I’m kinda available whenever. Get an emergency call, I can manage it immediately because I’m at home. It’s basically like having a doctor on call.

If Dr. Rife is not able to definitively handle your child’s illness over video chat, either she or a back -up doctor who will meet you at the clinic to examine your child. Dr. Rife also has several connections around town that may help and is glad to call ahead to the Emergency room and keep in contact with you to help you navigate the health system.

As always, it is very interesting to see the different ways that the DPC concept can work.