Integral to DPC is the autonomy that physicians have in running their practice and treating their patients how they see best. In DPC, physicians take their proper place at the head of the practice. As the leaders, physician-owners also fittingly assume responsibility for their business’s financial strategies. 

In many ways, finances are simple and straightforward. In DPC, many financial activities are less complicated than in the system due to the removal of health insurance and traditional billing. Despite this convenience, DPCs are still business entities that involve another level of legal and tax considerations, and the corresponding finances are far less straightforward than the basic budget planning. Attorneys and accountants are perfectly competent in helping create a business and file taxes, but it is not typically their role to draw out the optimal plan by which business owners can save their funds for their future needs. Again, the responsibility falls on the physician to make these impactful decisions.

In the quest for supportive data, there isn’t an “evidence-based” or “industry-standard” guideline for a healthy DPC financial plan because every practice is unique. A practice in the Midwest with a young physician will need a different strategy than a practice in the Southeast with a seasoned veteran. While it is important for both practices to be saving for the future, the approach by which they do so ought to look different.

There are a number of savvy ways physician-owners can save money for their practices. A few common methods include placing a certain amount of cash in a separate business savings account, investing their savings into funds for future purchases, and contributing to employer-sponsored qualified retirement plans. However, the rubber meets the road in the when, where, what, and how of savings strategies. When can I open and start funding a retirement account? Where should I place these funds among the different options? What amount should go into each savings method? How can I make my savings activity a consistent process? 

For all the hard work that comes with running a DPC, it’s certainly worth being intentional about making the most of the revenue coming into the practice. New DPC docs can ease the burden of future expenses by saving intelligently now. Experienced DPC docs can put themselves in better shape to exit the practice by saving in the right retirement account. All businesses benefit from saving with asset protection and tax deductions within qualified plans.

With all that being said, how much have you looked into your DPC practice’s savings strategies? What kind of difference could it make for your practice and for you personally? Are you saving as smart as you could be?

For questions about DPC-specific savings, connect with Nick Shiver at Consolidated Planning. While earning his master’s in health administration, Nick was disenchanted by the system and sought to find a path to serve the DPC and private practice movement. As a graduate student, Nick worked at Noreta Family Medicine, a DPC where he now offers financial advising. Nick spoke at the 2023 DPC Summit and is a partner vendor of the DPC Alliance.

E: [email protected]

P: (843) 609–5100

Financial Representative of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America® (Guardian), New York, NY. Consolidated Planning, Inc. is not an affiliate or subsidiary of Guardian. 

2023-157813

Exp. 07/2025