At Total Access Medical, we recommend that direct-pay physicians develop a good “elevator speech” – focusing heavily on greater patient access and care quality – so they can succinctly explain the concept to patients and others on the fly. It’s short and sweet, and delivers just the right amount of information.
Here’s an idea for a quick elevator pitch:
“I don’t want to take up much of your time, but your time is something I’m hoping to have a lot more of in the future. I’m aiming to switch from a traditional healthcare practice to a Direct Care practice – which means I’ll be able to provide more personalized healthcare. I’d love to continue your care at my new practice if that’s something you’re interested in. There’s a lot more to talk about, but I’ll send you a letter soon to explain everything in more detail.”
Next, doctors should learn how to tell their patients about all the value they have to offer them - through print pieces, business cards, website, and each and every single conversation you have with patients. Follow-up with a phone call to personally explain how direct-pay and annual retainer models work and boom – you’ve effectively introduced the DPC transition idea to your patients. This is not a short process, it will take many months to educate your patients so we recommend informing them sooner rather than later.
In our experience, doctors typically end up retaining around 20% of their original panel of 3,000 patients. Physicians who transition to a direct-payment model must be prepared to lose many of their existing patients.
Referrals from existing patients have proven to be a great source of new patients because those patients are able to personally explain how the practice works, making the would-be patients more comfortable.