What is Direct Primary Care?
My practice is based on a new concept in medicine called “direct primary care.” Direct primary care emphasizes a strong patient-physician relationship by eliminating barriers to communication, greatly improving physician accessibility, and cutting out administrative costs.
How does this make your practice different?
Direct Primary Care allows me to offer:
- Longer appointment times
- Significantly improved communication - patients can communicate directly with me via cell phone, secure email, and secure text messaging
- Same-day and next-day appointments; no more multiple-month waits for wellness exams
- Hands-on coordination of care with specialists, inpatient physicians, and nursing center providers; I will provide periodic in-person visits to patients admitted to Parker Adventist Hospital or Sky Ridge Medical Center for longer than 48 hours
- House calls, in certain situations
How do you accomplish this?
In order to offer this level of accessibility and service, I keep my business overhead as low as possible. To this end, I am "out of network" for most commercial insurances. This allows me to bypass the huge amounts of paperwork and billing hassles that private insurers require. Instead, I charge a flat subscription fee, which covers all of my services provided in and out of the office. Also, I limit my practice size to less than half the number of a traditional practice. This allows me to provide truly personalized care.
What services do you provide?
- Annual wellness physicals, including Pap smears
- Urgent visits for acute illness, such as infections, sprains and strains, etc.
- Chronic condition care, such as for diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, etc.
- Skin biopsies
- Cryotherapy for pre-cancerous lesions and warts
- Rapid on-site testing, including urinalyses, rapid strep tests, and INR checks
- EKGs
- Blood draws
- Access to wholesale generic medications
- Select vaccinations, including influenza, pneumonia, and tetanus vaccines
- And more!
What insurance plans do you accept?
I participate in Medicare and plans administered by United. I do not accept Medicaid. Please note that there are subscription fees for patients with Medicare and United plans. These fees cover services that are not currently reimbursed by Medicare and United. Patients who have other types of insurance or no insurance are encouraged to find out more about my practice because of the benefits listed above, which in the end are often cost-saving.
How much does it cost to belong to your practice?
The subscription fee ranges from $68 to $130 per month. Please contact my office for details.
Does this replace having health insurance?
No. Patients in my practice should retain a health insurance plan to cover medications, testing, specialist visits, and hospitalizations. Your insurance plan will continue to cover these items as it always has. In other direct primary care practices, many patients find that they are able to save money by avoiding trips to urgent care and duplicate testing.