What is Direct Primary Care?
By: Deborah Palmer
Direct primary care (DPC) is a model of healthcare delivery which focuses on patients receiving primary care from an individual physician or practice. This system of healthcare delivery differs from traditional fee-for-service models in that it eliminates the middleman from everyday delivery of medical care. As a result, patients are able to receive medical care at a lower cost, with fewer barriers to access.
In direct primary care, the patient pays the doctor directly for services, rather than the doctor seeking reimbursement from an insurance company. A typical DPC membership will involve an initial enrollment fee, followed by monthly payments for ongoing care. These payments can be made via cash, check, or credit card. In exchange for these payments, patients are granted direct access to their physician and can receive unlimited visits without additional fees or co-payments.
Direct primary care provides numerous advantages to both patients and physicians alike. For patients, this model offers superior access to quality healthcare providers with greater convenience than traditional fee-for-service models. Patients typically benefit from shorter wait times as well as lower overall costs for treatment than what is found in other healthcare systems. Physicians benefit from direct primary care by avoiding expensive overhead costs associated with billing insurance companies and other third parties. They also have more time available to provide personalized services and build relationships with their clients.
In summary, direct primary care is an affordable alternative to traditional fee-for-service models that allows patients to enjoy quality medical services while avoiding high costs and lengthy waiting periods associated with the delivery of traditional medical care.
Looking to learn more, reach out to Freedom Doctors or schedule a Meet & Greet Zoom visit to see how you can benefit from DPC.
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