A Doctor's Case for DPC

I’ll never forget my initial exposure to Primary Care in medical school. As a first-year medical student, we would spend an afternoon shadowing a Primary Care Physician every few weeks. I approached the entrance of the medical office and saw that my attending physician’s partner had a very familiar name – Dr. John Jones! I knew I wanted to be a Family Doctor, and it was exciting to dream of being in Dr. Jones’ position one day.

As I walked into my attending physician’s office and introduced myself, his first words to me were discouraging: “Are you sure you want to do this?” I was puzzled, because I had pictured a job in which the day-to-day was exciting and fulfilling. Throughout the day, it became evident that he had no choice but to rush from patient to patient, spending most of his time looking at his computer and not the humans in front of him.

More importantly, I saw patients who longed for more time with their doctor. Patients who needed a physician to advocate, counsel, and fight for them. Unfortunately, the old system of medicine does not incentivize this type of relationship.

Why is this?

The traditional way a clinic gets paid is through the “fee-for-service” model. In this model, physicians are paid for the services rendered to patients by a third-party insurance company. As one may expect, this has created a system in which providers are forced to see more-and-more patients in less-and-less time. In a normal clinic, a patient would be lucky to have more than 10 minutes with their doctor. We must make a change.

Here is the good news – this change exists through the Direct Primary Care (DPC) model, and it enables both the patient and physician to thrive. DPC is a model in which the physician delivers primary care services directly to subscribing patients for a monthly membership fee.

In this model, the doctor no longer works for the insurance company. The patient becomes the empowered consumer of health care, and the physician is incentivized to provide the best value possible. Gone are the days of feeling like a number – we’re here to transform your health.

While a concierge doctor may charge a high annual fee and still bill insurance, charge copays, and tap into your deductible, DPC is different. We charge an affordable monthly membership fee, and we do not charge any extra or hidden fees to see your doctor. We are built on transparency and fairness.

‍We provide concierge-style medicine, but for everyone else.

Patients deserve affordable, accessible, and excellent Primary Care. We have made this possible. We hope you join Volta Direct Primary Care and experience a turning point in your health.