Question 1

Are you on call/accessible to patients 24/7? Do you give them your cell phone number?

Accepted Answer

No,  there is a misperception that all DPC docs give out their cell phone number to patients and see them immediately even on weekends.  While there are some that do this,  they are closer related to Concierge Practices and have much smaller panels and much higher fees.  Usually,  we can get our patients seen within 1-2 days in the office and they are satisfied with that.  In the last 10 years I have only had about 10 after hours calls that I needed to return after hours.  We use a sophisticated auto-attendant system to send transcribed emails of messages left after hours.  Almost all of these are appointment requests or changes.

Question 2

How do you handle vaccines?

Accepted Answer

We use a company called vaxcare that gives us free inventory and bills patients insurance since we do not do that.  We can then administer the vaccine in office for free to our patients at no cost and even sometimes get an admin fee from Vaxcare.

Question 3

How do you handle referrals to specialists?

Accepted Answer

If patients have insurance we can still refer 99% of them to any specialist or procedure and have it get fully covered.  However, for patients without insurance we have negotiated cash discount rates for our patients locally that are usually 70-90% less than normal costs.  This makes it affordable for them since normally insurance is only covering about 80% of the cost anyway.

Question 4

Can I take some insurance and be a hybrid?

Accepted Answer

To see the answer to this question and to access other educational materials please go to DPC University. com or contact us through this site for more information.

Question 5

Do I have to opt out of Medicare?

Accepted Answer

To see the answer to this question and to access other educational materials please go to DPC University. com or contact us through this site for more information.

Question 6

Can patients pay for membership with HSAs?

Accepted Answer

To see the answer to this question and to access other educational materials please go to DPC University. com or contact us through this site for more information.

Question 7

How much space do I need?

Accepted Answer

To see the answer to this question and to access other educational materials please go to DPC University. com or contact us through this site for more information.

Question 8

What is the average start up cost?

Accepted Answer

To see the answer to this question and to access other educational materials please go to DPC University. com or contact us through this site for more information.

Question 9

What is the best way to get new patients?

Accepted Answer

To see the answer to this question and to access other educational materials please go to DPC University. com or contact us through this site for more information.

Question 10

How do you transition old model patients?

Accepted Answer

To see the answer to this question and to access other educational materials please go to DPC University. com or contact us through this site for more information.

Question 11

Do I have to do anything to stop taking insurance?

Accepted Answer

To see the answer to this question and to access other educational materials please go to DPC University. com or contact us through this site for more information.

Question 12

How do you hire new providers?

Accepted Answer