Fri. May 17th, 2024

This is one of those things that divides the DPC community. Should you do meet-and-greets for prospective patients? Personally, I am a big proponent of this. Why? Because you get to educate people on your practice before they join. It’s like a big commercial and a great way to “complete the sale” and get them to join. They may be so amazed by you tell them that they go out and tell friends.

When people DON’T know about direct primary care and join online without the meet-and-greet, then there can be a lot of problems later on. Some don’t realize they are being billed monthly. Some people think they can walk into the office like at an urgent care. By sitting down with a prospective patient you can lay out the expectations of the office and set some boundaries. Also, it is NOT always about converting people into joining. It is also about finding those who are not a fit (you can read my book for more detail) and convincing them your practice is not for them. Two words: RED FLAGS.

Yet, I still hear from respected DPC docs that they don’t agree with me on this. That’s okay. All DPC practices are not the same. Please don’t compare. The demographics are different in each area of the country. Some areas are more DPC knowledgeable. And with that comes different opinions from different DPC docs.

I am curious what you think?

(There is no wrong answer).

104990cookie-checkThe Meet-and-Greet Debate
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By Douglas Farrago, MD

Douglas Farrago MD is board certified in the specialty of Family Practice. He is the inventor of a product called the Knee Saver which is currently in the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Knee Saver and its knock-offs are worn by many major league baseball catchers. He is also the inventor of the CryoHelmet used by athletes for head injuries as well as migraine sufferers. From 2001 – 2011, Dr. Farrago was the editor and creator of the Placebo Journal which ran for 10 full years. Described as the Mad Magazine for doctors, he and the Placebo Journal were featured in the Washington Post, US News and World Report, the AP, and the NY Times. Douglas Farrago, MD received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Virginia in 1987, his Masters of Education degree in the area of Exercise Science from the University of Houston in 1990, and his Medical Degree from the University of Texas at Houston in 1994. His residency training occurred way up north at the Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, Maine. In his final year, he was elected Chief Resident by his peers. Dr. Farrago has practiced family medicine for twenty-three years, first in Auburn, Maine and now in Forest, Virginia. He founded Forest Direct Primary Care in 2014, which quickly filled in 18 months. Dr. Farrago still blogs every day on his website Authenticmedicine.com and lectures worldwide about the present crisis in our healthcare system and the effect it has on the doctor-patient relationship. Dr. Farrago’s has written three books on direct primary care: The Official Guide to Starting Your Own Direct Primary Care Practice, The Direct Primary Care Doctor’s Daily Motivational Journal and Slowing the Churn in Direct Primary Care (While Also Keeping Your Sanity) are all best sellers in this genre. He is a leading expert in direct primary care model and lectures medical students, residents, and doctors on how to start their own DPC practice. He retired from clinical medicine in October, 2020.

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