What if the “secret” to fixing the myriad of healthcare problems is a twist on a classic- the family doctor. There is a growing movement toward restoring the role of preventative medicine through the re-introduction of the primary care provider.

However, the decks are stacked against well-meaning primary care physicians. They have to comply with proper billing codes while documenting visit notes in an electronic medical record (EMR) and carry an unreasonable patient roster load to make the numbers work.

Fortunately, there is a model called Direct Primary Care that allows physicians to focus back on their patients. Here is the definition of this model from Doctor Direct in Raleigh, NC:

Excerpt from Doctor Direct‘s website

A New Approach to Family Medicine It’s called Direct Primary Care.

We love it, patients love it, and we think you’ll love it too. How are we different? doctor direct does not accept insurance so you won’t have a middle-man in your primary care. Instead, patients pay a monthly membership fee and receive all the primary care they need.

Decisions about your healthcare will be made by you and your doctor, without all the red tape that inevitably comes from third-party payors.

Our patients enjoy primary care office visits with no co-pays, direct communication with their doctor via phone, e-mail, text, and much more.

What this means for businesses

Imagine offering a health plan option that includes DPC practices as primary care options. The good news is that this has been done! The bad news is that it tends to work best in a self-insured health plan design, which typically is only available to larger employees of 50+. More on this later.

However, businesses and individuals should seriously consider DPCs even if it requires added investment with post-tax dollars. Disclaimer check with your tax accountant for the latest regulations with DPC rules in your state:)

easiest to do thought through self-insured plans where you can create a custom plan for your employees leveraging relationships

DPC Resources

For readers in the Raleigh-Durham area, here are some high-quality DPC options for your consideration:

May we all find a great primary care provider to help support our personal health journeys. Reach out to discuss offering DPCs as part of your company health plan by scheduling a chat with our dooable team.

Primary care is back!

Justin Thomas

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