Don’t Word Vomit

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So you’ve decided you’re going to open a direct primary care practice. Congratulations! That’s a huge step. Everyone will ask you “What is Direct Primary Care?” What will you tell your family, your friends, and your patients?

You’re so excited about leaving the dysfunctional fee-for-service world. It’s a big deal to offer same-day appointments, longer visits, affordable labs, and the chance to build real doctor-patient relationships. After years in such a frustrating system, DPC feels like a dream come true. You’ll want to tell everyone about it. 

Some will immediately understand the value of DPC. Great! Those people will become your raving fans. Others just don’t see what the big deal is, saying “Why would I pay more when I already have insurance?” That’s okay. DPC isn’t for everyone and they’re not your people. 

Then there’s a group in the middle who are frustrated with their current doctor. They hear all the features you’re mentioning, but they’re still thinking “What’s in it for me?”

Before you even get there, you need a simple, relatable way to explain it. If you word vomit about the greatness of DPC, you might confuse or even scare off your listener. People don’t sign up for things they don’t understand.

Here’s an analogy that I found helps people understand DPC pretty quickly. I tell people that DPC is sort of like a gym membership. You pay a monthly fee. Some months, if you’re sick, you come in a lot. Some months you don’t come in at all. Either way, you know we’re here for you when you need us.

I learned another tip from Dr. Shane Purcell and other docs at a DPC Alliance Mastermind. Develop your own “elevator pitch”, a short explanation you can give anyone, anywhere. The structure is simple. Start with “You know when…” and fill in something your patients complain about all the time.

For example, “You know when you call your doctor and can’t get an appointment for two weeks, but you’re sick right now? At my practice, we have same-day or next-day appointments.” That’s it. Short, simple, and relatable. You’re just throwing out a little bait and seeing who bites. If they’re interested, the conversation takes off on its own. That’s when you can tell them more about the benefits of DPC.

Once you’ve figured out what you want to say, stand in front of a mirror and practice it. The more you do it, the more comfortable you’ll get. Record yourself and watch it back with the sound off, then listen again without video. You won’t love the way you sound at first, but you’ll catch filler words and mannerisms you can start eliminating. A few smooth elevator pitches go a long way. The next time you’re at a networking event, a kids’ soccer game, or at church, you’ll be ready to confidently and naturally tell anyone about DPC.

This is one I use all the time: “You know when you go to your doctor, and you only get a few minutes with them? At my practice, every visit is 30 to 60 minutes long. We’ll have time to talk about your diabetes, blood pressure, joint pain, skin rash, AND to look at pictures of your new grandbaby (or dog, house, vacation, etc).”

No more jumbled words, no more over-explaining. With a little practice, talking about DPC will flow naturally.

Try it out and share your best elevator pitches in the comments below!

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About Anne Gonzalez, MD

Dr. Anne Gonzalez runs Emerald Health DPC in Western North Carolina. That was enough, until she kept seeing DPC doctors struggling to do it all themselves: marketing, patient follow-up, scheduling, social media. She developed Harmony Ops, a DPC specific CRM, so you don’t have to figure it out alone. Your practice can grow without all that extra effort eating up your life. When she’s not seeing patients or tinkering with automations, she hosts the DPC Life Podcast. Established DPC doctors talk about what works, and she coaches new DPC docs on creating their brand vision and messaging. Turns out, once you escape fee-for-service medicine, the sky really is the limit--which is why she’s got more projects than she probably should have.