The direct primary care model has revolutionized American healthcare in recent years. The healthcare model like dpc works by patients paying membership or retainer fees to doctors.
In recent years, more and more doctors have switched to direct primary care models. This way, they get a stable income flow while providing a better quality of care to an exclusive set of patients.
In collaboration with the AAFP, the Society of Actuaries recently conducted a survey. The results of the survey were published in a May 2020 report, which found that most of these doctors practice direct primary care that does not bill as per traditional fee-for-service basis.
Treat your practice like a business. Therefore, you will have to get these sorted to get started:
These are the most essential, but you may need to attend to other matters such as staffing and dispensary.
You will need to focus on client acquisition to open. Unfortunately, relying on foot traffic in your area alone may prove unsuccessful unless you have massive savings. That is why investing in local SEO is always a great idea.
Patients who are seeking providers are likely to use search engines for information. Therefore, your search engine ranking can be the difference between sustaining your practice or closing it up even before it takes off.
Although Direct Primary Care practice is most popular for the non-affiliation of practitioners to insurance providers, you can set up your practice so that you still retain this affiliation.
Under the "pure" model, the provider dedicates their practice to patients who have paid their membership fee. Therefore, no person holding healthcare insurance can seek medical help.
But a hybrid practice will dedicate time for both. This means dividing your time between third-party fee-for-service and DPC patients.
Building the trust of your potential clients is one of the most sustainable ways to building your practice. This means publishing relevant information on your website, addressing frequently asked questions, and making yourself available to inquiries.
Despite the necessity to perform or delegate marketing-related tasks to sustainably build your practice, doctors are generally more fulfilled with this alternative.
Having full control of the maximum number of patients you are willing to take allows you to go back to the fundamental reason for becoming a doctor: providing exceptional and patient-centred care. You also enjoy a better work-life balance, lower overhead costs, and better professional satisfaction.
As a Direct Primary Care doctor, you can also be more transparent. This gives you leverage over non-DPC counterparts because you can be more transparent with your pricing and membership fee inclusions.
If you have no reputation in your area of practice, defining your target market is the best way to start.
For example, you can target people who do not have insurance coverage, accounting for 27.5 million Americans. By targeting this market, you get a stable and reliable income source while also providing more affordable healthcare.
However, if you are converting your existing practice, you can retain your clients and gain new ones with early enrollment discounts. This allows you to limit recoup your overhead more quickly.
Do you want to start and thrive at your own Direct Primary Care practice? Then, list your practice for free and maximize your online reach, transforming health care shoppers into patients.
