Direct Primary Care, also known as concierge healthcare, has introduced a fresh perspective to the way employers are accustomed to providing care. The model works by directly connecting the patient to the healthcare provider. This effectively cuts out the increasing premiums, claims and overall headaches that come with dealing with insurance companies. Rather, patients are able to coordinate a monthly, quarterly, or annual financial arrangement with their DPC provider directly.
Compared to traditional primary care, direct primary care offers employees with a stronger relationship with their provider, affordable services, and significantly less red tape throughout the process. Check out some of the reasons DPC is becoming a viable solution for employers to expand care to their workforce.
Transparent Pricing
Direct Primary Care removes the mystery of copays and insurance premiums that tend to increase year after year, seemingly without reason. With DPC, employees pay a fixed fee on a predetermined schedule, allowing for incredibly transparent healthcare pricing.
Increased Convenience
On average, patients spend over two hours seeking care, including round trip travel time, as well as time spent waiting on physician availability. However, only about 10% of that time is spent face-to-face with a primary care physician, according to research published in the American Journal for Managed Care. With a much smaller patient pool, these facilities are often able to accommodate same day appointments and minimal wait time.
Personalized Care
DPC generally only has between 600-800 patients, compared to over 2,500 for the traditional primary care physician. This allows for as much personalized time between patient and provider as needed with minimal wait time. Additionally, as opposed to 1 in 3 traditional providers referring their patients to specialists, a whopping 85% of care is delivered at an onsite DPC facility.
Direct primary care is quickly becoming a go-to solution to nurture quality healthcare for employees. The practice benefits both physicians and providers, while remaining cost effective for employers and allowing them to bypass insurance companies and pay fixed costs for care directly. When looking to introduce efficiency, personalized care, and unmatched convenience to employee health benefits, direct primary care is a prime option.