Today’s rapidly evolving and unsustainable healthcare climate is pushing us to look differently at healthcare. In many ways, we are experiencing ‘the perfect storm’ of regulations and patients, who are more than eager to switch to better health care options. One new model that directly addresses the concerns of access, quality, and affordability is direct primary care. This form of care is not patient-centered, nor is it physician centered. It is relationship centered and it's becoming more and more popular in Philadelphia. 

Direct primary care is changing family medicine in Philadelphia. Philadelphia is home to many families who deal with the struggles of a healthcare system that seems to be more about profit than health. Despite the number of family practices throughout the area, making an appointment with a doctor can still be a challenge. Most parents understand the frustrations of flu season, colds, and seasonal allergies and trying to see a doctor during those high-traffic times. More frustrating still are the sudden and unexpected emergencies that all parents experience at one point or another while raising children.

When it comes to family health care, everyone wants only the best and most attentive doctors to be looking after their loved ones. Who can blame them? More than 82% of Americans list a family care physician as their primary care physician. Parents and children both need reliable doctors who take the time to focus on the details, but also on the bigger picture. Where general practice falls short, direct primary care exceeds.

Direct primary care provides families with more reliable medical attention than multi-doctor medical practices. Having the whole family consistently seeing a single doctor makes seeing the doctor a quicker ordeal, without rushing appointments. Problems are often made much simpler by understanding the medical history of the family.

Families need family doctors to take care of the regular medical needs. Vaccinations, check-ups, and all of life’s little speed bumps create the need to have a primary care physician on retainer. For urgent care, it’s even more important to have a doctor who can give some insight and context for a medical emergency. Direct primary care practices provide 24/7 contact information for your physician. The average general practice doctor’s visit costs around $72. With a subscription to a doctor, you no longer have to pay per visit. That’s not to mention not every concern or question requires a visit to the doctor that a phone call or email can’t answer.

General practice is an obsolete practice. Philadelphia is home to some of the leading doctors in the direct primary healthcare movement and those doctors are dedicated to putting the care back in healthcare. With family plans, as well as individual plans, there’s a way for everyone to experience what modern medicine can (and should) be. By raising the bar, the hope is that competition will be around who can provide the best care, not who can stand to make the most money. 

Meet some of Philadelphia's direct primary care doctors & learn if direct primary care is right for you!