"To find health should be the object of the doctor. Anyone can find disease." 

A.T. Still MD, DO

Philosophy of Osteopathy

What is Direct Primary Care?

 

Comprehensive & Convenient

I do full spectrum primary care for anyone from age 15 to 115.  Physicals/yearly exams, urgent care type visits, health coaching, lifestyle medicine, and osteopathic treatments are all included.  I even do palliative and geriatric focused care for you and your loved ones.  You can email me your questions, send a quick text, or have a phone visit if that’s what works best for you. Or schedule a clinic visit - without waiting weeks or months.  My office is usually open 4 days a week, and I often have same day or next day visits.  Visits are unhurried, 30-60 minutes for follow-up and 90 minutes for new patients, so you have time to discuss what is important to you.

 

Personalized

We all have unique health concerns and goals.  I am here to discuss YOUR goals and tailor your care.  This is not Big Box corporate medicine.  This is customized care.

 

Great value

It’s simple - I do not nickel and dime you with co-pays and surprise fees.  After the initial enrollment fee, there is a single (monthly) fee which covers all of the care that I provide as a primary care physician.  Anything outside of my office or my services is not part of the monthly fee (hospitals, surgeries, emergencies, specialists, tests, imaging, etc.).  All costs are transparent at Vineyard Health.

I also have discounted labs and wholesale medications, which can save a few to a few hundred dollars a month. I even keep a few medications on hand, in case I need to send you home with antibiotics or something else same day.

Having no barrier to access and care means that you can come in to be PROACTIVE with your health, rather than reactive to illness.

 

What is covered/not covered?

See the DPC services tab for a more complete list. 

If you have a laceration and I staple or stitch it, no cost to you.  If you need a UA or rapid strep, no cost to you.  But if I do a biopsy and send it to a lab for pathology, the biopsy is included, but the pathology/lab is not. You can either pay a discounted cash rate to the lab, or use your insurance as usual - up to you.  If I can find a service for a discounted rate (for example, a CPAP machine or Holter Monitor), I will let you know.  If you want to use your insurance, I’m happy to order it for you.  If you go to the hospital or ER, they will bill your insurance as usual.  I know some specialists that also do direct cash services, and lots of specialists that bill insurance as usual. Due to the costs and regulations, I also do not have vaccines, except a limited number of flu shots each fall/winter.

 

How does it work?

I do not bill insurance, so I will see you REGARDLESS of what insurance you have, or do not have.  (You can still use your insurance for labs, tests, imaging, hospitals/ER, specialists, and services outside of my office.) For LESS THAN $1000/year - far less than most insurance deductibles - you can have comprehensive primary care with a physician that knows and cares about you.  DPC is NOT insurance, so I still recommend having at least a catastrophic plan for emergencies, etc.  But you do not need insurance to see me.  Your records are private.

You pay a one-time enrollment fee of $100.  You pay the monthly fee.  I request a minimum of a 3 month commitment, but I hope you’ll love the DPC model and Vineyard Health and stay with me for years and years.  I want to build relationships, to be of service to my patients and my community, for the long term.