How To Start and Grow Your Direct Primary Care Practice

, ,

What are the biggest challenges to starting a Direct Primary Care Practice?

, ,

The Biggest Challenges when Starting a Direct Primary Care practice

There are several challenges that doctors may face when starting a direct primary care practice. These may include:

  1. Financial risks: Starting a new business always carries some financial risk, and this can be particularly true for direct primary care practices. These practices are often small, and may not have the financial cushion that larger practices have.

  2. Marketing and outreach: Direct primary care practices may have a harder time getting the word out about their services, as they are not affiliated with a larger hospital or health system. Doctors may need to be proactive about marketing their practice in order to attract patients.

  3. Legal and regulatory issues: Direct primary care practices operate outside of the traditional insurance model, which can create some legal and regulatory challenges. Doctors may need to be familiar with state and federal laws governing the practice of medicine, as well as any additional regulations that apply to direct primary care practices.

  4. Managing patients' expectations: Some patients may be unfamiliar with the direct primary care model, and may have expectations that are not consistent with how these practices operate. Doctors may need to spend time educating patients about the benefits of direct primary care and how it differs from traditional primary care.

How to Overcome These Challenges

Fortunately, all of these challenges are manageable and can be overcome with the right mindset and the right tools. Here are a few ways that doctors can address the challenges of starting a direct primary care practice:

  1. Seek out resources and support: There are a number of organizations and groups that offer support to doctors starting direct primary care practices. These may include professional associations, business development organizations, and other resources. We’re glad that you’re using Startup DPC as one of those resources! When it comes to reaching out to patients, take a look at our course on attracting new members, here.

  2. Carefully plan and budget: It is important to carefully plan and budget when starting a new business, and this is especially true for direct primary care practices. Doctors should have a clear idea of their financial needs and how they will cover them. I would work with another direct primary care doctor or another local business person in your community - have them review your business plan! We created a business plan course as a part of our Startup DPC resources, because doctors don’t often have experience writing a business plan or creating a clinic budget. This is one of our top resources on our site and our business plan course includes a sample budget!

  3. Educate patients: It is important to educate patients about the direct primary care model and how it differs from traditional primary care. This may involve explaining the benefits of the model, such as longer appointment times and more personalized care. If you try to do this on a one-on-one scale, this will be difficult. But, if you leverage tools like YouTube or a great website, your patients can watch videos and read blog posts on your site to educate themselves. Make the type of service that you provide in your practice clear on your website. For an example of what this might look like, check out our clinic’s FAQ or Frequently Asked Questions page. We have media interviews, YouTube videos, and written content to explain our services clearly.

  4. Stay up to date on legal and regulatory issues: It is important for doctors to stay up to date on state and federal laws and regulations that apply to the practice of medicine, as well as any additional regulations that apply to direct primary care practices. This may involve seeking out legal or regulatory guidance from professional associations or other resources.

Thanks for reading, and best of luck with your DPC practice!

-Paul Thomas, MD with Plum Health DPC

P.S. Our direct primary care practice, Plum Health DPC, recently celebrated SIX YEARS in businesses - I love teaching other doctors how we’ve been so successful at our DPC practice in Detroit. I sincerely wish you the same or greater success - we need excellent doctors like you to create value for patients and create a better health care system.

, , ,

Building Your Personal Brand as a Direct Primary Care Doctor

, , ,

As a direct primary care (DPC) doctor, your personal brand is an important part of your professional identity. It helps to set you apart from other family medicine doctors, urgent care centers, and hospital systems in your area, and can attract new patients to your practice. Here are some tips for building and promoting your personal brand:

  1. Define your unique value proposition: What makes you different from other DPC doctors? What are your areas of expertise, and how do you approach patient care differently? By identifying your unique value proposition, you can better communicate the benefits of your practice to potential patients.

  2. Develop a strong online presence: In today's digital age, it's essential to have an online presence that showcases your expertise and personality. This can include a website, blog, and social media profiles. Be sure to regularly update your online profiles with relevant and engaging content, and consider using SEO techniques to increase your visibility.

  3. Engage with your community: Building relationships with your patients and other healthcare professionals in your community can help to establish your personal brand and reputation. Consider speaking at local events, joining professional organizations, or volunteering your time and expertise to organizations in need.

  4. Utilize patient testimonials: Patient testimonials can be a powerful way to showcase the value of your DPC practice. Encourage satisfied patients to share their experiences online, and consider featuring these testimonials on your website or social media profiles.

By following these tips, you can effectively build and promote your personal brand as a DPC doctor. This can help to attract new patients and establish your reputation as a trusted and competent physician.

, , ,

How do you grow your Direct Primary Care Practice in the First Year?

, , ,

How do you Grow your Direct Primary Care Practice in the First Year?

This week I got a nice email from someone who purchased our Startup DPC book. Here’s what they had to say:

When you first started out, aside from social media, what do you think is the best way to market to people to gain patients? Which population of patients were you most successful with?

There are so many things that you can do to grow your direct primary care practice in the first year. When it comes to marketing, it’s all about delivering a consistent message through the most powerful channels at your disposal.

For me, I started by leveraging my social media channels, engaging in activities that strengthened my personal and business brand, and leveraged that success and momentum to reach out to journalists and media outlets in my community.

Once the word got out about our affordable and accessible healthcare service in Detroit, the patients followed. Social media channels typically reach a smaller audience, but they can reach a larger audience with a viral post or a post that gets shared several times in the community.

Traditional media outlets can amplify your voice and allow you to reach more people in your community. My strategy is to leverage the small wins, which can build toward bigger wins and bigger media coverage opportunities.

Steps We Took to Grow Our Direct Primary Care Practice in the First Year

Here’s what we did when we first started out to grow our direct primary care practice:

Frankly, you need to hustle. One of the things I write in my book is “If you’re bored, you’re doing it wrong.”

You need to take advantage of the time that you have to get the word out about your practice. You need to fill your calendar with meetings - meet with business owners, political leaders, teachers, librarians, human resource directors, and others - to teach people about your new and different business.

I teach people how to do this in my book and in my courses, so if you want to take a deeper dive and start using these powerful tools, I show you exactly how to do it in my courses.

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day,

-Dr. Paul Thomas with Startup DPC and Plum Health DPC

HOW CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT STARTING AN DIRECT PRIMARY CARE PRACTICE?

If you enjoyed reading this blog post and if you want to learn more about starting and growing your direct primary care practice, look no further than our book and our courses on how to start and grow your direct primary care practice. We at Startup DPC have begun compiling some of the best content available on this blog, in our book, and in our courses.

The best place to start is to take our Direct Primary Care Business Plan course, available here. From there, you can learn how to attract new patients to your direct primary care practice and how to find the perfect location or build out the practice of your dreams.

Thanks for reading and watching, and best of luck in your direct primary care journey!

-Dr. Paul Thomas with Startup DPC

,

Direct Primary Care Doctors Embrace the Startup DPC Book and Courses

,

Where to find the best information for starting a direct primary care practice

Direct primary care doctors are trying to get the best information on how to start and grow their direct primary care practices. There’s a lot of good resources in the DPC ecosystem, but we want to deliver the best content that helps doctors transform the way they approach starting and growing their DPC practices.

Dr. Prisiliano Salas recently took our Sales Funnel course, and he had great things to say about the process. Check out his LinkedIn Post, here:

Testimonial for Startup DPC book and Courses

Post from Dr. Prisiliano Salas about the Startup DPC Book and Startup DPC Courses:

Just finished a course by Paul Thomas, M.D. from Plum Health DPC and #startupdpc. Let me just say that Paul knows his stuff. I met him in 2018 at the Family Medicine DPC Summit. He gave a lecture about his experience starting a #DirectPrimaryCare practice and using social media marketing strategies. I've been following him on/off during this time but had not fully made the jump onto social platforms the way he describes it. Now two years later his practice growth is testament to this method. He's full and added a new doc! On top of that he remains faithful to his mission, to empower the #DPC community with his knowledge and reproducible success. I'm now ready to embrace social media to share my knowledge and experience with my patients (though still working up to youtube to get more camera ready 😎 ). Take one of his courses or read one of his 2 books, he won't disappoint. Keep the momentum going!

Thank you so much for the shout out Dr. Salas! and best of luck with your direct primary care practice. I know that you’ll have every advantage on attracting new patients after taking our Sales Funnel course.

-Dr. Paul Thomas with Startup DPC

Thank you so much for the shout out Dr. Salas! and best of luck with your direct primary care practice. I know that you’ll have every advantage on attracting new patients after taking our Sales Funnel course.

Thank you so much for the shout out Dr. Salas! and best of luck with your direct primary care practice. I know that you’ll have every advantage on attracting new patients after taking our Sales Funnel course.

More about Prisiliano Salas, MD

To learn more about Dr. Prisiliano Salas, MD, check out his practice, Salveo Direct Care, or read his bio, here:

Dr. Prisiliano Salas is a Board Certified Family Medicine physician practicing in the Medical Center in San Antonio. His practice is Salveo Direct Care, one of the first Direct Primary Care clinics in San Antonio and Bexar County TX. In this new model of practice, Dr. Salas offers membership-based care without the limitations that health insurance can have on primary care visits. His mission is to deliver convenient and accessible health care services in San Antonio and across the state of Texas. He is a graduate of The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, TX and holds a Plant-based nutrition certification from Cornell University - T. Collin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies.

, ,

Direct Primary Care Book is Available in Paperback Format!

, ,

Today I received the first copies of the published Startup DPC book!! 📖

It’s an amazing feeling to hold this book 📚 in my hands, as it’s been the culmination of 4 years of knowledge and experience, and 3 years of writing and documenting the process.

It’s much bigger and longer than I thought it would be, but I guess I had a lot to say 💁🏻‍♂️

It’s my sincere hope that this book is transformative for those doctors 🥼 who want to take back medicine 💊 🔬 for the sake of their patients and the communities that they serve.

Here’s to your good health, and to a better health care system that awaits us, if we choose to reach for it.

This moment ^^^ brought to you by pure joy - it's an amazing feeling to unbox and open up the hard copy of my book - Startup DPC: How to Start and Grow Your Direct Primary Care Practice.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0886GYD9Z/

It was a labor of love - for the love of our patients, for the love of our communities, and for the love of my physician colleagues, so that they have to tools and knowledge to truly take care of their patients on their own terms.

Together, we can build a more compassionate and sustainable health care systems that focuses on caring for people and valuing the patient-doctor relationship.

Thanks for reading and watching,

- Dr. Paul Thomas with Startup DPC

Paul Thomas MD of Startup DPC holds up a copy of Startup DPC: How to Start and Grow Your Direct Primary Care Practice. Dr. Paul Thomas is a Board-Certified Family Medicine Physician practicing at Plum Health DPC in Detroit, Michigan.

Paul Thomas MD of Startup DPC holds up a copy of Startup DPC: How to Start and Grow Your Direct Primary Care Practice. Dr. Paul Thomas is a Board-Certified Family Medicine Physician practicing at Plum Health DPC in Detroit, Michigan.