Physicians can deliver their services in various forms, with the traditional model of healthcare involving physicians seeing numerous patients daily then receiving money from insurance companies for their services. However, the needs of patients change over time.
More and more Americans now value having a more direct and close working relationship with their physicians. This working relationship would mean that the doctors will be more knowledgeable regarding the patients’ medical history and health background, providing more personalized care. Furthermore, many individuals don’t like the heaps of paperwork and lack of transparency in the traditional healthcare service model.
As a result of the patients’ changing needs, many physicians now shift away from the traditional model and into new ones that have risen in popularity over the past few decades, such as direct primary care (DPC) and concierge medicine. These two forms of healthcare services share similarities, but they also have significant differences.
Direct Primary Care and Concierge Medicine: The Similarities
The DPC and concierge models share a core aspect: patients (or their employers) pay a membership fee for healthcare. These models provide individuals with direct access to physicians. As a result, they can enjoy individualized care, attention, and communication without worrying too much about management issues.
Because doctors do not rely on insurance reimbursements for their finances in these two models, they can reduce the number of patients they see daily. This allows them to focus more time and attention on each individual, often leading to a closer working relationship between both parties.
Direct Primary Care vs. Concierge Medicine: The Differences
Both direct primary care and concierge medicine focus on better working relationships between doctors and patients, but the two models also share numerous differences. We’ll focus on each one and highlight what sets them apart from the other.
Direct Primary Care
In direct primary care, patients pay their doctors directly through an agreed-upon interval, either monthly, quarterly, or annual. The fees don’t change no matter how frequently the individual visits the physician, and patients can cancel at any time. Moreover, DPC generally has lower membership fees than concierge medicine and many necessary procedures are included in the membership. DPC doctors typically have fewer patients than Concierge physicians allowing more time with each patient. Direct care doctors will accept patients regardless of their insurance status and have often developed partnerships with local specialists, labs and imaging services to provide discounted rates to their members.
Concierge Medicine
Concierge medicine also is a membership-based practice that provides similar benefits to DPC. However, it typically comes with higher average membership fees, and individuals can’t cancel mid-year.
One big difference of concierge medicine is that they still file for insurance reimbursement. This means more staffing, more overhead, and more a headache for both the patient and the physician in this relationship. It also means they are required to see more patients per day to cover this overhead much like traditional fee-for-service medicine.
Sign Up for Direct Primary Care Today
Unlike the traditional model of healthcare, DPC and concierge medicine allow patients to access more personalized care while reducing the hassles of insurance policies. Both of these practices can vastly improve the care that individuals receive, and each of them has its own sets of benefits and drawbacks.
If you’re looking for direct primary care services in Tyrone, GA and surrounding areas, Healthsprings Direct has you covered. We offer high-quality, personalized, and convenient healthcare to provide patients with what they need. Sign up today!