We want to welcome Michael Lovelace, MD to the DPC world as he grows his practice in Louisville, Kentucky. He was recently highlighted in a local business journal who seemed excited about the financial benefits of direct primary. Why is this so crazy to them? Anyway, here is a nice quote from the piece:
“Because I’ve been in the business operations world, I understand processes and how time is a real element and medicine kind of struggles with that: They just keep piling on to physicians and patients to do things without actually allocating enough time,” Lovelace said.
Dr. Lovelace has taken a circuitous path to DPC. From his website:
I have worked as a Financial Analyst for a Fortune 500 company, Project Manager for a non-profit institute, and ran a family business (plant nursery) with 45 employees.
While working at a cancer research institute I made the decision to change careers and go back to school to become a physician. After graduating from the University of Louisville School of Medicine I completed my training in Family Medicine in Columbia, South Carolina.
I chose the specialty of Family Medicine because of the wide spectrum of illnesses that I can treat. As Family Medicine physicians we are trained to treat newborns, pediatrics, women’s health, adult chronic disease, and geriatrics.
During my training, I studied different practice models and chose to open a DPC practice because I believe that it provides the best opportunity to truly connect with patients. As a former business owner, I understand that providing quality customer service requires time. Another huge positive of being a DPC practice is that I can save patients money on medications and labs .
It is so nice to see newer doctors jump right into DPC. It is also nice to see a former financial analyst become a family doc and realize the benefits of our movement.
Good luck, Dr. Lovelace and keep us updated!