In most traditional practices, the patient pays the physician indirectly through his or her insurance. In a direct primary care practice, the patient pays the physician directly. The significance of this is that the direct primary care physician serves the health interests of the patient rather than the insurer, has lower overhead due to not having to file insurance claims, and can spend more time with their patients.  This is different from a concierge practice, which bills insurers on top of its annual fee and therefore still bears the heavy, expensive and distracting administrative burdens associated with insurance regulatory requirements.

As the wife of a hospitalist, I know that the practice of medicine has changed a lot in the 25 years since my husband began. I know patients are often older, have much more complicated needs and long medical histories to digest. I know that in traditional primary care practices the number of patients treated per shift has gone up, while the time spent with each patient has gone down. “There’s little time to practice the art of medicine,” my husband has said repeatedly. But in the last six months, I have heard from multiple clients about a direct primary care practice where there is time for that: The Fischer Clinic. I recently reached out to Dr. Ben Fischer to ask how that was possible.

To read the entire article, visit: https://www.wral.com/what-is-a-direct-primary-care-practice-/17455734/