Dr. Paul Thomas Speaks at the AAFP DPC Summit 2020

In July, Dr. Paul Thomas spoke at the DPC Summit 2020. The topic? Set: How to Lease or Build Out the Perfect Space for Your Direct Primary Care Practice - it took place from 11:30am - 12:15pm Central on July 18, 2020.

A lot of doctors struggle with lease negotiation, estimating the cost of a build out, hiring general contractors, and overall working with real estate. That’s why I felt so strongly about putting together this material on how to lease or build out a new space for your direct primary care practice.

Dr. Paul Thomas speaks at the DPC Summit 2020 about building out the practice of your dreams.

If you missed the presentation, I’ve recorded it as a course on this website. You can find it here!

Have you always wanted to build out that big, beautiful dream practice? The one that's in your head, that would be perfect for you, your patients, and the community? Here's how to get it done! Join me, Dr. Paul Thomas, as we explore the inspiration behind and the best practices for building out your dream office. I guarantee that by taking this course, you will save at least $10,000 on your overall costs. Here’s what we’ll cover:

• When you should Buy versus Lease an Office

• How to Select a Profitable Location

• How to Hire an Architect

• How to Work with a Real Estate Broker

• What to expect in terms of Costs

• Sample Construction Timeline for different scenarios

• The Perfect Floor Plan

• The Perfect Exam Room Layout

• How to Buy Furniture

• What type of Signage do you need?

• How to have an awesome Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony

HOW CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT STARTING A 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

Can You Have a Successful Practice and See Five Patients Each Day?

Every day, primary care doctors are running from room to room, having less and less time to spend with their patients. That’s because our current system incentivizes doctors to see more and more patients in less and less time. Doctors lose out because they don’t have enough time to invest in the relationship with patients, and patients lose out because they don’t have enough time to get the excellent medical care that they deserve.

But what if there was a better way?

In this podcast episode hosted by Brent Lacey MD and the Scope of Practice, we explore what it looks like to start and grow a direct primary care practice. In this model, the relationship between doctor and patient is paramount. Therefore, there is a huge emphasis on creating enough time for doctor and patient to spend together, creating enough time and space for the delivery of excellent medical care.

Here’s what the Scope of Practice had to say about it:

Episode 20 – The Direct Primary Care (DPC) model is disrupting the marketplace of the modern healthcare industry.  It’s a good thing too, since the U.S. is projecting a massive shortage of physicians over the next 20 years.  Dr. Paul Thomas has become a national expert in the DPC model, having successfully built his own direct primary care practice over the last few years.

In this model, he sees 5-6 patients a day, makes a middle six-figure salary, and has tremendous patient satisfaction scores.  If that sounds too good to be true, it almost is.  Work less and make good money?  And it’s better for your patients?  And it saves them money too?  No, this is not a scam, this is a phenomenal business model!

Whether you’re interested in direct primary care or not, this episode has got some great information for you!  Dr. Thomas shares his incredible business savvy to help us learn how we can modify our own practice to make more money, have a better lifestyle, and yet still help our patients more!

“Direct primary care is ‘concierge medicine for everyone else.’  It’s a membership model for primary care that makes health care affordable for the average person.”

 – Dr. Paul Thomas

Contact Dr. Thomas:

• Instagram: @PlumHealthDPC https://www.instagram.com/plumhealthdpc/

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/plumhealthdpc

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PlumHealthDPC/

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulthomasmd

HOW CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT STARTING A 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

Dr. Paul Thomas at Hint Summit 2D

Paul Thomas, MD will speak at Hint Summit 2d

On September 25th at 4 pm Eastern Time, Dr. Paul Thomas will be speaking at the Hint Summit 2D and he will be sharing best practices for starting and growing your direct primary care practice. This lecture at Hint Summit 2D will focus on leveraging your personal brand to grow your DPC practice by engaging with social media and by interacting with traditional media outlets.

The Hint Summit 2D is FREE for medical students and residents and has a low cost for practicing physicians and others who are interested in the material. To sign up, check out this link! Here’s what Hint Health has to say about the conference:

Hint Summit is the only event that brings together all members of the DPC ecosystem to inspire innovation and catalyze growth for the modern DPC movement.

If you’re a person living in Detroit or Metro Detroit, and you’d like to have a direct primary care doctor for yourself, your family, or your business, please check out services at Plum Health DPC by clicking through to www.PlumHealthDPC.com.

Dr. Paul Thomas of Plum Health DPC and Startup DPC will be speaking at the Hint Summit 2D on September 25th at 4 pm Eastern Time - mark your calendars!

HOW CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT STARTING A 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

Speakers at Hint Summit 2D include Paul Thomas, MD; Delicia Haynes, MD; Rachel Knox, MD, MBA; Cristin Dickerson, MD; David Slepak; Fay Rotenberg; and Jay Parkinson, MD, MPH.

Speakers at Hint Summit 2D include Zubin Damania, MD aka ZDoggMD, Marilyn Bartlett, CPA; Marty Makary, MD; Zak Holdsworth; Julie Gunther, MD; and Rushika Fernandopulle, MD.

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A beautiful, inspiring conference with #hinthealth - answering the biggest question: how can we break the status quo in #healthcare? @zakholdsworth @zdoggmd @neuhofel @dcontorno #sanfrancisco #directprimarycare #dpcconference #dpcsummit #hinthealth2018 #healthcaresystem #juliamorganballroom #familymedicinedoc #familymedicinedoctor

A post shared by Paul Thomas MD (@plumhealthdpc) on Jun 10, 2018 at 5:41pm PDT

Leveraging Your Personal Brand to Grow Your Direct Primary Care Practice

This week was amazing in that I had a post go viral on LinkedIn. I’ve been posting weekly on my social media accounts for the last 3 to 4 years about my work with Direct Primary Care and our practice Plum Health DPC and this is the first time that I’ve had a post go viral.

Here’s the post in full from LinkedIn. If we’re not connected on LinkedIn, please feel free to reach out:

This focus on virality may seem like vanity, but it has important implications for our business at Plum Health and for the broader direct primary care movement. Here’s why going viral is important:

• builds awareness for my personal and professional brands

• gives me credibility as an authority on direct primary care, house calls, and health care in Detroit and beyond

• increases traffic to our website, Plum Health DPC, as that link is at the bottom of the post

• I can now use this post as a peg to engage with journalists, generating more news, more engagement, and getting more attention for my business

• this post has increased new membership/sales for our direct primary care practice, Plum Health DPC

Our viral post about making house calls in Detroit has now reached 1.5 million people via LinkedIn

With that being said, I’m so excited to launch our newest course, Leveraging Your Personal Brand to Grow Your Direct Primary Care Practice. I want to teach you everything I know about starting and growing a Direct Primary Care practice, and one of the most important lessons that I can teach you is how to use your personal brand to grow your practice. You can take the course, here.

HOW CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT STARTING A 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

Paul Thomas MD at Hint Summit 2020

This is Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC and Startup DPC and I'm so excited to be speaking at the Hint Summit 2D on September 24th and 25th. This will bring together thought leaders like Dr. Zubin Damania and Dr. Marty Makary who will be speaking about the Direct Primary Care model of health care and how it's having an impact for doctors and patients.

I too will be speaking at the conference and I will be helping doctors understand how to leverage their personal brand or their character to grow their direct primary care practices. I'm passionate about this work because I believe in this model of care and I want DPC for my family members, friends, neighbors, and community.

If you're interested in learning more, check out the Hint Summit 2D happening September 24th and 25th, and have a wonderful week.

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

HOW CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT STARTING A 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

Startup DPC Book Review

This week, we received an amazing review from Chris Wilson, a social worker and critical thinker on healthcare issues for the Startup DPC book:

Hello, my name is Christopher and I am a behavioral health provider in the city of Chicago. I work in an integrated care setting within an infectious disease clinic. I am an avid advocate for comprehensive health care reform and as a result am increasingly curious and open to any voice within healthcare that seeks to offer an alternative to our otherwise failing, expensive, and underwhelming system.

This book and Dr. Paul’s previous book (see here) are about Direct Primary Care (DPC)—this one is specifically aimed at those who may want to consider opening a DPC practice. It is an excellent read and quite detailed—very few questions, if any will go unanswered. His passion for providing excellent care from the perspective of the patient and the doctor is fierce and he does an excellent job of showing just how DPC practices can do just that.

Further, the lost art of truly informed consent is not lost on Dr. Paul. He takes hopeful DPC practitioners through the potential good, bad, and ugly of DPC practices. Heck, Dr. Paul even hypothesizes the types of folks that SHOULDN’T consider this venture.

Yet this won’t be a surprise after getting to know to Dr. Paul in person or through his writings. His authenticity breathes off the pages and he speaks frankly about things in a way that for many will be deeply refreshing when contrasted with the overly sterile, uncompassionate, and impersonable state of many health systems today.

Personally, I want the real deal and someone that will tell me to dig deep when considering a mission statement as opposed to some generic cookie cutter “crap you just put on the wall.” Yes, it’s okay to laugh—humor is good friends and the author isn’t afraid to use it! Dr. Paul is dynamic and radically authentic, in the best way possible.

Hand in hand with authenticity comes transparency. Dr. Paul discusses how transparency and communication is one of the core values of his DPC practice. His writing is no different as this book offers a behind the curtain transparency about a vast range of topics pertaining to Dr. Paul’s personal DPC business ventures…right on down to the nuts and bolts of his personal salary. Again, if you have questions—this book will most likely have the answers. 

Listen, as someone who works within healthcare AND is a high utilizer of health care I know how much is wrong with our current system and how much more we deserve as both providers and patients. Dr. Paul also knows this—and he is actively attempting to address it by practicing WITHIN and advocating FOR a system of primary care he knows is better.

Despite my personal experience with top-notch health systems within Los Angeles and Chicago—it will always be infuriating to hear about patients being double or triple booked, services and medications being exorbitantly overpriced, the devastating salaries of healthcare CEOs, the terrible patient experience, etc---the list goes on.

While I’m not quite sure how the DPC movement fits within the broader end goal of bringing universal health care to the USA, Dr. Paul makes a compelling and strong case about how to vastly improve the primary care experience NOW…consider enrolling in and/or starting a DPC practice today.

A recommended read!

Christopher L. Wilson, LCSW

Chris Wilson reviews the Startup DPC book - it’s available in paperback and on Amazon Kindle

How Many Patients Does a Typical Direct Primary Care Doctor Attract in the First Year?

This week, I wanted to highlight the success of one of my Direct Primary Care colleagues, Dr. Kym Moyer. She launched her practice about seven months ago, called Magnolia Family Medicine in Gallatin or suburban Nashville Tennessee. This week, she celebrated attracting 100 patients in 1 year - break out the champagne Dr. Moyer, this is an excellent achievement!

Here’s what Dr. Kym Moyer had to say about the journey:

7 months ago Magnolia Family Medicine opened its doors. I opened in a town population of 42K in the middle of an already well-established medical community, knowing no one. Population estimate of only 10% without health insurance and I consider it a fast growing community. I opened with a 1 room office spending a total of 5K in start up expenses. 

Last Friday we celebrated the 100th sign up at the 7 month mark. The pace has been steady and very doable without help. Looking back I’m so glad I decided DPC out of residency. Being a business owner gives me more control over the time I get to spend with my patients, and more importantly my family. 

I attribute a lot of my success to the other physicians in this group who have shared their tips, stories and recommendations along the way. Thank you! 

If you’re considering DPC....JUMP! You can do it! 

My tip: getting involved with the chamber and other various business networking groups before I opened was how I ultimately gained momentum in the beginning for patient referrals. Facebook has also been the best advertising for me.

How Many Patients Does a Typical Direct Primary Care Doctor Attract in the First Year?

The typical direct primary care doctor attracts roughly 100 patients in the first year, so Dr. Kym Moyer’s growth is remarkable. There’s a huge learning curve for doctors when it comes to branding and marketing a practice, and I think Dr. Moyer is successful because she’s been able to develop a clean and easy-to-understand brand and business.

Take a look at the Magnolia Family Medicine website and see why she’s been successful - there’s a clear offer, a clear benefit, simple pricing, and an excellent video that gets to the heart of why Dr. Moyer does what she does. It’s clear and compelling and you can see why Dr. Moyer is outpacing the typical DPC doctor.

So thank you Dr. Moyer for following your passion and serving your community with excellent primary care services - it’s a great example of what success looks like in this DPC model. And here’s to your next 100 patients!

HOW CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT STARTING A 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

Praise for Startup DPC - the book that helps doctors start and grow their direct primary care practices

Over the last 2 weeks, we’ve gotten some great reviews for Startup DPC book - the book that helps aspiring direct primary care doctors start and grow their DPC practices. Check out what they had to say!

5.0 out of 5 stars Great resource!

Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2020I cannot imagine starting my DPC clinic without this book. Simple yet robust content with all necessary information needed to be confident in this process. Excellent job Dr. Thomas!

Terri A Bowland

5.0 out of 5 stars Going DPC? Buy this book!

Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2020Verified PurchaseQuick, easy read but very informative. Buy hard copy to keep track of some lists of things to do. Thank you Dr. Paul!

Paige

5.0 out of 5 stars Continue reading if you need a little inspiration in your life!

Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2020I read this book this weekend on our road trip. I learned so much, and feel inspired! Instead of asking how can I fit into that job or that job? I’m asking how can I share who I am with my community through this model? It also breaks down the nuts and bolts in a way that makes it feel doable. Thank you for taking the time to share your experience.

HOW CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT STARTING A 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 Elective Rotation Curriculum

Many students and residents aspiring to become direct primary care doctors have reached out and asked for advice on how to write a direct primary care elective rotation curriculum. Writing your own elective rotation curriculum for a month with a direct primary care doctor can be transformational, and it’s a crucial step towards seeing what works in the direct primary care model. I highly encourage all students and residents to look into either writing their own direct primary care elective rotation curriculum or using a template to write their own curriculum.

When I was a third year resident, I wrote my own direct primary care elective rotation curriculum and it was quickly approved by my program director. I traveled out to Kansas and Colorado to shadow some influential direct primary care doctors and it was transformative for my journey to start and grow my own direct primary care practice. I detail that journey in my book, Startup DPC How to Start and Grow Your Direct Primary Care Practice.

Writing a Direct Primary Care Elective Rotation Curriculum: What to Include

When you write a direct primary care elective rotation curriculum, you should include required responsibilities for the elective rotation, like the amount of time you’ll spend shadowing, working with, or learning from a direct primary care doctor.

You should also include goals of the rotation, like being able to differentiate between various payment models for family medicine and to gain experiential knowledge from other practicing physicians in varying payment models.

Further you should include learning objectives, like understanding the concepts of how to write a business plan and learning how to interact with the community as a business owner. There are so many tangible skills to learn, and this is a good place to include those objectives.

Download our Direct Primary Care Elective Rotation Curriculum

If you’d like to download our direct primary care elective rotation curriculum, it can be found as a part of our Startup DPC course on writing a business plan. In my opinion, these two documents go hand in hand.

You Do Not Need an MBA to Start a Successful Direct Primary Care Practice

Do I Need an MBA to Start a Direct Primary Care Practice?

Many doctors look at the direct primary care model and practice style wistfully. They see the benefits for both patients and doctors and they aspire to become a DPC doctor. However, they think that this is only achievable after becoming an MBA. But…

You DO NOT need an MBA to be successful as a DPC doctor - if you’re smart enough to finish medical school, gritty enough to complete residency, and compassionate enough to choose primary care, then you have ALL of the ingredients of a successful DPC doctor and business owner. #StartupDPC

Direct primary care is all about removing the middle men and the barriers between doctors and patients. What makes this DPC practice model so unique and so powerful is the doctor’s ability to get rid of the unnecessary steps and intermediaries between doctor and patient, delivering a streamlined and intuitive primary care service to patients.

So doctors, I know that it can be a scary leap to go from an employed physician with no training in branding, marketing, sales, web development, search engine optimization, and other essential skills for a successful DPC practice, but you don’t need to hire an MBA to do this. What you can do is read through the available resources in the DPC ecosystem, learn the new skills that you can, and hire individuals for the skills you don’t have, but you do not need to hire an MBA to manage the entire process.

For example, I needed help designing a logo, so I hired a logo designer to help me get this done. That logo designer gets paid a one-time fee, but does not get paid a percentage of my revenue ad infinitum.

If you’re ready to take the next step, pick up a copy of our book, Startup DPC: How to Start and Grow Your Direct Primary Care Practice. Read more after the break.

You DO NOT need an MBA to be successful as a DPC doctor - if you’re smart enough to finish medical school, gritty enough to complete residency, and compassionate enough to choose primary care, then you have ALL of the ingredients of a successful DPC doctor and business owner #StartupDPC

HOW CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT STARTING A 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