A Direct Approach to Primary Care

I am reminded on a daily basis how starting my own direct primary care practice was a good move for me, my patients and the community. I routinely read medical journals to stay up to date with the latest information about the current medical issues. During this month’s latest issue, I was surprised to see how much of the information was about coding for COVID-19 and all the problems many physicians have had from coding. I even took a moment to recheck to the cover of the magazine to make sure I hadn’t picked up one on coding! It is the daily encounters with my patients where I get to spend uninterrupted time to get to know them. Or in this case, reading a page from a coder’s digest of what I’m not missing out on in the medical world. I’m constantly reminded of what a good decision I made starting a direct primary care practice.

Of course it hasn’t been easy. People have been so accustomed to using their insurance cards for every single thing in medicine. So, a hurdle I have had to often overcome is educating people on why this type of healthcare model is so beneficial for everyone. From a financial perspective, starting a clinic with zero patients when you have a medical school debt with a monthly interest equivalent to cost of an average monthly mortgage payment wouldn’t be considered a financially smart move by most.

I have been wanting to write a blog about why I chose to start a direct primary care practice. This month I have been fortunate enough to be interviewed by two newspaper reporters who are helping tell my story. These journalists have captured different parts of my story so eloquently that instead of writing a new blog post, I’m going to share these articles. My move to the Edgewood neighborhood of Homewood caught the eye of a local newspaper, the Homewood Star. The wonderful article not only shined light on my practice to residents around Homewood and neighboring cities, it also led to a story in The Auburn Plainsman. The latter article details my undergraduate studies at my Alma mater and my route to medicine before opening Birmingham Direct Primary care. Here it is, please take a few minutes to read it at https://www.theplainsman.com/article/2020/07/auburn-grad-takes-a-direct-approach-to-primary-care

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