Dr. Paul Thomas at Pearls for Primary Care Conference
Today, Friday September 30th 2022, I was invited to give a presentation on Direct Primary Care for my family medicine residency program. It is a great honor to be invited to this conference to speak about Direct Primary Care and my practice, Plum Health DPC.
This was a great day of lectures and learning and it was truly a privilege to be invited as a speaker in this environment. My talk focused on the Direct Primary Care model. We went through the following learning objectives:
Define and understand direct primary care as a financial payment model for primary care delivery
Discuss the details of the direct primary care model for physicians and for patients
Highlight the growing number of direct primary care doctors in Michigan and why more physicians are choosing the direct primary care model
Demonstrate how to start and grow a direct primary care practice in Michigan
There are many challenges in our current fee-for-service system. The biggest challenge being that doctors and patients don’t have enough time together to fully address the health concerns of the patient. This can lead to burnout and a less-than-fulfilling practice of medicine.
The direct primary care model helps patients by lowering the cost of care and allowing for doctors to have more time with their patients to build meaningful relationships and address concerns fully. These trusting relationships can lead to better health outcomes as doctors can spend more time on motivational interviewing to help patients lose weight or taking the time to discuss the pros and cons for vaccines and helping people protect themselves from vaccine-preventible diseases.
Oakwood Annapolis Family Medicine Residents Who Are Direct Primary Care Doctors
Interestingly, several Oakwood Annapolis Family Medicine Residents have taken the leap to start or grow their own direct primary care practices. I have had the great privilege of consulting with some of these doctors and I am always rooting for their success - I believe strongly in the direct primary care model, and the ability of the model to support independent practice and uplift the doctor-patient relationship.
That being said, my residency colleagues who are now in a Direct Primary Care practice include:
Paul Thomas, MD with Plum Health DPC in Detroit, MI
Joe Bacala, MD with Quill Health Direct Primary Care in Las Vegas, NV
Remmya Nair Reddy, MD with Our Family Doc DPC in Alpharetta, GA
Nabaa Zalzala, DO with My First Family Clinic in Alpharetta, GA
Jeff O’Boyle, DO with Beyond Primary Care in Ann Arbor, MI