Direct Primary Care

Why Switch to Direct Primary Care?

Updated on: September 10, 2024

The direct primary care model has begun to show its strength in the healthcare sector. DPC Model is raising its awareness in the US health sector and gaining acceptance all around.

Why Switch to Direct Primary Care?

Here are the reasons to switch to direct primary care:

1. Direct primary care physicians can spend more time with patients.

Ask any primary care physician, and they will say the key to quality patient care, early disease diagnosis, and optimal health management is spending enough time with the patient.

This is a major pain point in the traditional, insurance-based health care model, given that primary care physicians are consistently burdened with overbooked appointments and unnecessary paperwork.

With Direct Primary Care, primary care physicians have the luxury of hashing out the patient’s state of health and well-being. Both parties no longer have to worry about rushed, robotic appointments. This is what draws American family physicians to this new health care model.

We knew that what patients want more than anything else is uninterrupted time with their PCP and to build a level of confidence. They want relationship-centered care. - The Izbicki brothers, Direct Primary Care physicians who originally came from community family practice.

2. Direct Primary Care physicians let patients have immediate, direct access to their personal line.

“Do this. Take that. Next patient, please.” Ever heard of the cookbook treatment? This is what many traditional family care physicians have succumbed to these days.

They apply a singular “recipe” to every patient, even though each patient has different health conditions and lifestyles that require individualized treatment.

Doctor appointments are not meant to be rushed, robotic, and insincere. This is why Direct Primary Care physicians choose to see a total of 200-800 patients only – to ensure that each patient gets the right amount of care and attention.

Just imagine the level of care our great grandparents got out of their physicians. Bowler hat-clad, suitcase in hand, family care physicians in the 50s would take the time and effort to visit their patients at home, even going so far as checking on every member of the family while he’s there.

This is the level of patient care direct primary care aspires for and aims to bring back. Developing a direct, tight-knit relationship with patients is crucial to keeping them healthy and happy.

3. You are treated like a valuable asset in Direct Primary Care.

Many can attest that Direct Primary Care offers genuine, proactive care and above and beyond service to its patients. From emergency house calls to same-day appointments – things that are virtually unheard of in the traditional, insurance-based health care model – Direct Primary Care treats patients accordingly and allows them the time they deserve.

Patients no longer have to worry about long queues and waiting time at the clinic, only to have their primary care physician see them within 10 minutes tops.

Having direct, 24/7 access to your primary care physician’s personal line creates a tighter bond between doctor and patient and makes patients feel secure and cared for health-wise.

Direct primary care model

4. Direct Primary Care lets you bid farewell to awful visits to your family medical clinic.

The traditional, fee-for-service health care system has made clinic visits a horrific ordeal. To set an appointment prior is already a headache in itself. Patients have had to endure frustrating booking procedures and front desk calls – being put on hold and going straight to voice mail included.

If it so happens that you have follow-up questions you wish to ask your family medicine doctor, you have to go through the entire process all over again. There is no other way to reach your family physician outside of that method, and that is what makes Direct Primary Care so promising to patients.

It has managed to restructure the present primary care model into simple and, most importantly, patient-focused. Direct Primary Care eliminates third-party barriers and fosters genuine, straightforward interactions between primary care physicians and their patients.

5. Direct Primary Care builds a level of confidence and trust between doctors and patients.

In the traditional, insurance-based health care model, patients like you catch yourself doubting the medical advice your family physician gives. That’s not very unusual considering that appointments are almost always rushed and robotic.

It is also not uncommon to find yourself being passed from one specialist to another, undergoing repetitive diagnostic tests and lab procedures. You have wondered more than once if said tests and procedures are even necessary and were made with your best interests in mind.

With Direct Primary Care, long-term health management and improved patient care come as an immediate result of a tight-knit doctor-patient relationship. This refreshing, contemporary health care model is a two-way street. Patients are healthier and well-taken care of while physicians are happily fulfilling their patient advocacy.

6. The value of Direct Primary Care truly outweighs its cost.

If anything, what DPC does is curate a family practice where patients are respected for who they are – human beings who have identities, different lifestyles, and varied financial conditions and medical concerns. Many patients appreciate Direct Primary Care: its proactive, thoughtful approach to health care.

This new and improved primary care model has come up with every meticulous detail to elevate the whole primary care experience, including flexible payment terms, individual and family plans, virtual care options, and everything else in between.

Moreover, Direct Primary Care is the only health care model that offers discounted out-patient services and medication at a wholesale cost. Imagine paying for sixteen-dollar flu vaccines when corporate hospitals and traditional primary care clinics provide the same one at $65.

Your long-term savings from medication and out-patient services alone will have been enough to cover your Direct Primary Care subscription fee! And remember – that’s on top of not having to worry about accumulating surprise or hidden charges from merely visiting your primary care physician.

DPC Challenges:

While everyone agrees with the benefits of DPC models, some vital things need to look at:

  1. Legal: Some advanced legal queries need to be answered while structuring your DPC practice.
  2. Marketing: It can be challenging to work on DPC practise while continuing your traditional practice.
  3. Health insurance exchange: It takes effort to build the stability, scalability and sustainability for DPC practices.

Is Direct Primary Care Worth It?

The myth is true. Your DPC subscription does not replace your health insurance plan. Still, the pleasant plot twist here is this: you can now reduce your premiums to cover catastrophic expenses and in-patient services only because your DPC subscription will cover everything else about primary/routine care.

That alone is such an underrated benefit brought about by DPC. With insurance premiums rising to 70% in the past three years, patients merit the freedom to rely solely on their health insurance and still expect the level of health care they deserve.

There is a proven direct correlation between top-quality, meticulous primary care and decreased hospitalization and emergency room spending. This is because Direct Primary Care has preventive care at its core.

From being on top of chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and cholesterol management to proactively (and conveniently) responding to urgent medical situations like fever, broken bones, and sprains, the goal of primary care is to nip any potential illnesses. And to address existing conditions before they even lead to financially paralyzing ER trips, major surgeries, or hospital confinement.

Do you think you would benefit from a DPC doctor? We have the most extensive collection of DPC doctors in the US. Find your nearest DPC doctor in your area today at – findmydirectdoctor.com

Published on: February 27, 2021