In Direct Primary Care, doctors partner with their patients for primary care services for a set “subscription” fee. By moving outside the administrative burdens and hurdles of traditional of traditional insurance-based billing systems (ie, by not accepting insurance), DPC practices have the time to offer a higher level of service, direct communication, and easily accessible healthcare. The DPC doctor is employed by the patient — and the doctor-patient relationship forms the core of this healthcare model.

Direct Primary Care doctors actually spend time with their patients, with standard appointment lengths ranging from thirty minutes to an hour or more. The set “subscription” fee covers all services that the physician provides, including annual exams and acute visits. Patients can directly phone, text, email, or video chat with their providers. There are no co-pays or hidden fees. Labs and radiology are often offered at deep discounts, up to 90% discount from insurance based prices. Many DPC offices have medication dispensaries on site which sell medications at wholesale prices*, resulting in prices for medications that are often lower than insurance-based co-pays.

DPC takes out the middleman, cuts through the layers of bureaucratic complexity and provides good, old-fashioned customer service — it is the best of old fashioned medicine in modern times.