You waited three months to establish primary care at a medical office, only to spend one hour in the waiting room (or exam room) before you see the doctor for a total of 10-15 mins of face-to-face time.
You want to address three medical concerns, but were told there is enough time to address two of those concerns and you will have to schedule another visit to talk about the third one. When you go to the front desk to schedule, the next available appointment is in two months. You decide the third issue is not important enough to schedule another appointment and hope that it goes away on its own.
Weeks later, you receive a bill for the 10-15 min office visit:
Using the doctor's name, the hospital system charged your insurance $500.
Your insurance contracted with the hospital system for a rate of $350, but you have not met your deductible for the year.
The insurance passed along the $350 cost to you, to be paid out of pocket.
You realize that insurance paid NOTHING towards your care, despite the $300-$600 withdrawn from your paycheck every pay period to cover premiums.
Now you have to figure out where to cut costs from your monthly budget - perhaps you can reduce your grocery bill every week by eating cereal for dinner?
You feel that it was a waste of your time and money, and vow not to set foot into another medical office.
The scenario presented above is based on real experiences that patients have reported to me.
When I was an employed physician, I had no power to change scheduling, billing, pricing, or the patient experience. Healthcare corporations will always require physicians to see more patients (with less time), especially as insurance reimbursements continue to dwindle every year. My colleagues who are currently employed recently told me they have patients scheduled during their lunch break and at the end of the day at 4:50pm (office closes at 5pm). How can anyone provide high quality care in just 10 mins?!
Now, however, I HAVE THE ABILITY TO CHANGE how primary care is delivered to my patients, TO REDUCE COSTS, IMPROVE QUALITY OF CARE, AND EMPOWER PATIENTS to take control of the convoluted healthcare system, through the direct primary care (DPC) movement!
Unlike the traditional care model where your doctor is juggling thousands of patients, DPC allows physicians to limit their patient load, ensuring each patient receives ample time and attention.
With DPC, you pay a flat monthly or annual fee directly to your doctor for a range of primary care services, instead of using insurance for your primary care. This means more transparency in healthcare costs, no surprise bills, and easy access to care.
In DPC, the focus is on preventive care and maintaining optimal health, rather than only treating illness. This means more personalized care, longer appointments, and direct access to your doctor via phone, email, or video.
Switching to Direct Primary Care can mean a healthier, happier you! Let's revolutionize healthcare together!