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DPC transforms how care is paid for and delivered.

Direct Primary Care puts physicians and patients in charge of healthcare decisions by removing insurance from the doctor-patient relationship.

Dr. Rob Lamberts explains why he switched to DPC

677

Avg. panel for providers w/ at least 200 patients

35%

YoY growth in DPC members

49

States with at least one DPC practice

WHAT IS DIRECT PRIMARY CARE?

Direct Primary Care practices charge a flat recurring membership fee instead of billing insurance.

Be your best doctor self

Offer the medical services and patient experience that match your hippocratic values.

Escape fee-for-service hell

Free yourself from the vicious cycle of long hours and absurd requirements imposed by your FFS overlords.

Love being a doctor

Smaller panels ensure you have plenty of time for yourself and your patients.

Help your community

Make high-quality primary care accessible for the uninsured and under-insured members of your community.

Download the definitive guide to DPC

• Achieving the Quad-Aims with DPC
• Implementation models
• Benefits for patients, physicians, & employers
• And much, much more

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Pure DPC vs. Hybrid DPC

The two most common implementations of the DPC model are "Pure" and "Hybrid." Pure DPCs do not bill insurance for any patients. Hybrid practices have a mix of DPC and fee-for-service patients.

Compare

Pure DPC

Popular with new practices.

PROS

+Total freedom from fee-for-service

+More rewarding doctor-patient relationships

+Maximize time with patients

+Keep panel sizes small

+Lower labor costs

+Simplified clinical and administrative workflows

CONS

—Simplified clinical and administrative workflows

—Expect a drop in revenue if converting from FFS

—Requires an investment to grow memberships

Hybrid DPC

Popular when converting from fee-for-service.

PROS

+Little impact to short-term revenue

+Keep all your patients as you slowly convert to DPC

+Allows more time to fully transition to DPC

CONS

—Higher clinical and administrative overhead costs

—Need to maintain two billing systems

—Still dealing with insurance companies

—Can water down the DPC patient experience

VIDEO

Dr. Garrison Bliss, Dr. Lisa Davidson, and Dr. Ken Rictor share their stories about starting DPC practices.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is DPC different than Concierge medicine?

While both DPC and concierge practices charge membership fees, there are two big differences between the models.

First, DPC practices charge a much lower membership fee than concierge—typically $49-99/mo for an individual adult. Concierge practices can charge several hundred or even several thousand dollars a month because they typcially target high net worth individuals.

Second, concierge practices bill insurance and still operate in a fee-for-service model. DPC practices do not bill insurance for their members. However, hybrid DPC practices may still bill insurance for their non-DPC patients.

Do patients need insurance if they have DPC?

Yes. But not for the ~80% of annual healthcare needs covered by primary and preventative care. Patients should carry health insurance for protection against big expenses from unpredictable major medical events, like surgeries, cancer, car accidents, etc.

Many DPC docs recommend pairing a DPC membership with a high-deductible health plan or a medical cost sharing product, like those offered by Sedera and Zion.

Disruptors to the insurance market, like Decent, offer high-quality insurance that is designed to pair with a DPC membership.

What services are typically included in a DPC membership?

It's up to you. DPC gives doctors a new lease on practicing medicine, free from the constraints of the fee-for-service system. For patients, DPC promises more value, better doctoring, and an overall higher-quality patient experience than what fee-for-service can offer.

DPC practices typically include a far more comprehensive range of services in their membership plans than what you'd find in a fee-for-service practice. For example, it's common for DPCs to include 24/7 telemedicine, in-house dispense of generic drugs, x-rays, and basic labs in a monthly membership fee. Other practices include nutritionists, dermatology, and mental health services. Practices often offer additional services for modest cash pay prices.

For services not included in the membership fee and not offered on-site, like advanced imaging or surgery, DPCs usually offer members deeply discounted rates, which they've negotiated with a local network of labs, imaging centers, specialists, and other downstream providers.

A DPC practice might also offer OB/GYN, laceration treatment, casts, wart removals, weight loss management, and a host of other services. What services you offer are up to you.

What can I expect my panel to look like if I go into DPC?

Like most things in DPC, the makeup of patient panels is something that doctors decide for themselves. Most have a mix of patient profiles, but some panels are heavy on the uninsured, and some focus on seniors, while others prefer serving families with young children, and still others only serve the employees of local businesses. It’s completely up to you.

How do patients get labs, prescriptions, inpatient services and other things I can't provide?

Many DPC practices choose to include basic labs and generic drugs as part of their memberships. For things like surgery or specialists visits, doctors will negotiate cash-pay arrangements with local providers or help patients find the best combination of services and pricing for the treatment they need.

Still, it's recommended that DPC members carry medical insurance that covers catastrophic and major medical expenses as well as non-generic drugs.

$4.6 billion

The estimated cost of physician turnover and reduced clinical hours due to burnout.

(American College of Physicians, 2019)

Learn the latest DPC trends

• Adoption data
• Membership trends
• Growth rates
•Business practices
• And much, much more

Download

VIDEO

Dr. Vance Lassey and Dr. Nick Tomsen take the stage to share their perspective on how DPC gives providers full autonomy over their clinics.

12.6x growth since 2015

DPC clinic locations 2015-2019

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Discover how Hint can help your organization achieve its goals with DPC

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