Why I like DPC... Reason #1
My venture into direct primary care (DPC) has cost me more than I ever anticipated, but I have been rewarded many times over in terms of satisfaction, contentment and relationships.
Direct primary care encompasses the idea of a primary care provider being reimbursed directly by his/her patients for the health care services he/she provides. It doesn't take long to "Google" the phrase "direct primary care" or "DPC" and find plenty of articles listing the benefits of this type of arrangement between a person and their physician. And I encourage you to do so, especially if search bars are your sort of thing.
But if you're quickly flipping through the latest posts in this blog and want the quick scoop in a short snippet today, then I'll give you this doctor's brief take on the primary advantage of DPC.
TIME: That's it! My number one reason for loving direct primary care is time.
Like most DPC physicians I can determine the amount of time that I would like to have with my patients. One hour visits for a new patient? Sure!
Uninterrupted procedures? Of course!
Extra time during an office visit to research the latest diagnosis or treatment recommendations in the medical literature? Absolutely!
Margin to look up the best prices on-line before writing a prescription? No problem!
Time to develop relationships of trust with patients? Yep!
What about all the time required for pre-authorizations, claims processing and adjusting, or billing and collecting? Not needed!
Because I have more time to listen, advise, research and price shop, I am convinced that I can provide better care and benefits to our members than I ever did before in the "traditional" practice of medicine. And I have examples to prove it. I do not have to make snap-judgment diagnoses so that I can get to the next waiting patient. I am not monetarily incentivized to deal with just one problem per visit as in the past. I am not wasting my medical assistant's time or prolonging my patients' symptoms while trying to obtain insurance pre-authorizations. I can even find time to write blog articles to encourage people to consider DPC..
TIME!
Why do you like having a DPC physician?