"We are entering an exciting time for primary care as there has not been a significant shift in the way care is delivered or paid for in decades. Now, physicians can offer more time with patients and lower patient loads (meaning less risk of medical errors) at a lower cost. Wouldn’t it be nice to know up front what your cost is for more than two-thirds of your medical needs? Direct Primary care (DPC) provides up front price transparency so you can make healthcare choices that fit your budget. Wouldn’t it also be nice to know that you could manage 75% of health care needs on a budget of less than $900 for the entire year? Direct primary care puts the power back in the hands of the user. DPC providers order less unnecessary testing because we have the time to spend with each patient and make a thorough evaluation. The average physician visit for primary care is seven minutes and often people have multiple issues. We think it is poor care to be managing complex medical issues in a few minutes per issue. Physicians know that our current healthcare system is broken, dangerous and expensive but until recently have lacked the ability to do something about it. We want our patients to understand how their health issues impact their current and future health, longevity and satisfaction. We want them to know how the medications they take work and understand why they are taking them. This has been shown in numerous studies to increase compliance, decrease medication errors and decrease unintentional death or disability from medication errors. We also want those medications to be affordable to them which is why offer them for a fraction of the retail price, dispensed directly to you in our office. Direct Primary Care is really about patient and physician empowerment. It is high quality care at reasonable cost. It is better care via more time with patients and their families than the current traditional medical system allows. It allows patients to make educated informed choices. Patients can take part in managing their costs. This increases social responsibility. Physicians can provide better care to patients through 24/7 access with technology available (cell phone, computer, email). In the current system, only face to face and occasionally phone visits are reimbursable. This creates a lot of unnecessary visits for issues that can be managed electronically. In the traditional system, patients are required to come to the office for every issue in order for the physician to be compensated for the care they provide. This is a disadvantage to many patients- people with transportation issues, mobility issues or schedule issues. Some issues can be handled without a face to face office visit."
