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Writer's pictureMaryal Concepcion

What is DIRECT CARE?


Doctor holding hand of patient
Patient-Centered Care

---> For years, the healthcare culture of the United States has been dominated by profit-driven healthcare, including insurance-driven and private equity-driven models, amongst others. Now, Americans are discovering a way of accessing DIRECT CARE, which means getting direct access to a doctor who knows you when you need them, for typically less than the cost of a monthly cell phone bill. This type of healthcare bypasses profit-over-patient models by instead focusing on patient-focused healthcare. This type of care is called: DIRECT PRIMARY CARE.



Direct Primary Care (DPC)

Direct Primary Care is a model of care rooted in preserving the doctor-patient relationship.

Here are the main tenets of DPC:


  • 1) CHARGE A PERIODIC FEE

  • 2) NOT BILL ANY THIRD PARTIES ON A FEE-FOR-SERVICE BASIS

  • 3) ANY PER-VISIT CHARGE MUST BE LESS THAN THE MONTHLY EQUIVALENT OF THE PERIODIC FEE



What Could Direct Primary Care Look Like For Me?

It's a great question! Let's look at the differenes between PROFIT-DRIVEN CARE and DIRECT CARE.


WHAT PROFIT-DRIVEN HEALTHCARE USUALLY LOOKS LIKE:

Mrs. Souleka has three children, is divorced, and has health insurance through her employer. Every time she needs an appointment at her clinic, she has expensive co-pays. In the past, she has not taken her family to the clinic she usually goes to because of the cost. She also gets frustrated because she expects she may or may not see the same physician or non-physician provider when she goes to the clinic. When she has needed care, she has also had repeated issues with getting an appointment in a timely manner, and she frequently ends up going to the E.R. for everyday issues, which has ended in bills of thousands of dollars.


Does this scenario sound like the healthcare you’ve experienced? You are NOT alone.


Now, see what Mrs. Souleka's experience was after she became a member of a DPC clinic.

NOTE: she STILL has her insurance through her employer.


WHAT DIRECT CARE USUALLY LOOKS LIKE:

Mrs. Souleka decided to enroll her family at her local DPC Physician-owned clinic. She pays a monthly fee of $199 for herself AND her three kids. Now, she sees the physician every time she or the kids get sick, and she has not had an issue getting in with her doctor, who offers same and next-day appointments for acute matters. She has not had to go to the E.R. for an ear infection or stitches because she can get these concerns addressed with her private physician. She has also noticed that her doctor doesn’t seem rushed during her appointments and feels she has always been able to get her concerns addressed, and if she forgets something, she can just message her doctor directly. She is also amazed that for certain concerns like a rash on her child, she can message her doctor a picture of the rash and does not have to take time off work to get her child care.


She can now focus on using her insurance for true emergencies, surgeries and other hospital-based care, and she is not locked in to using her insurance for everyday issues like colds and rashes that she can get addressed by her DPC physician.



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