Dr. Paul Thomas at the American Academy of Family Physicians Students and Residents Conference 2021

Dr. Paul Thomas at the American Academy of Family Physicians Students and Residents Conference 2021

In 2021, I got to participate in the AAFP’s Students and Residents Conference! It was a great experience and I loved interacting with students and teaching them about Direct Primary Care. I had a great time, and I think the students learned a lot from the presentation. My session was called “Direct Primary Care: Why Doctors Are Ditching Insurance for a More Fulfilling Practice of Medicine.”

This month, I got the most wonderful email from the AAFP staff about my presentation:

Hi!

Hope you are doing well.

As you may know, each of the National Conference workshops allowed participant review via numerical scores and written comments. These surveys were available throughout the conference and for the duration of time the platform was open for archive viewing. Results have now been tallied, and your session report is attached.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out. Thanks again for your participation in National Conference.

Best,

-AAFP Staff

Okay, the email was pretty good, but what was attached was truly wonderful. Attached to the email were the reviews from students, residents, and program directors for the presentation. Here’s those reviews:

• Amazing and encouraging. I don't know what the solution is to fixing healthcare in America, but this seems very promising.

• Amazing! Dr. Paul Thomas did a great job.

• Amazing! Very informative.

• Caught last half. Always looking for the latest and greatest opportunities for my residents to explore during or after graduation. We had a few residents speaking with interested applicants for this conference, but I don't think they attended your lecture. Our program will definitely be contacting you regarding lecture or rotation in future. You have a plethora of information to share, thank you very much. As a non physician, I will share you with my friends.

• Fantastic workshop, very informative!

• Great learning about a new way to practice FM!

• Great presentation

• Great talk and I appreciated how he answered so many questions.

• That was an eye-opening session for me. Thank you!

• Very helpful indeed. Will share this to our residents.

• Very informative!

• Wonderful presentation. Loved the topic has open my mind to a new way to practice FM!

• Wow, thank you for this presentation. I am inspired and optimistic for the future of family medicine.

On top of that, the overall rating from the 27 survey responses was a 5 out of 5!

Overall, Dr. Paul Thomas got a 5 out of 5 for the Direct Primary Care presentation at the AAFP National Conference.

The comments from students and residents blew me away!

The reviews and comments from the folks who attended this session really blew me away, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with the AAFP and teach the future of family medicine about Direct Primary Care and alternative practice models.

Thanks for reading!

-Dr. Paul Thomas with Startup DPC, physician and founder of Plum Health DPC

Reviews for Dr. Paul Thomas at the DPC Summit 2021

Dr. Paul Thomas at the DPC Summit 2021

On July 17th, 2021, Dr. Paul Thomas presented at the DPC Summit 2021, hosted by the American Academy of Family Physicians. It was a phenomenal, and well-attended event, and it was an honor to be a part of it and presenting at such an important conference.

The presentation focused on branding and marketing for direct primary care doctors. Family doctors are not taught how to promote themselves or their work in a meaningful way. This presentation focuses on how to do just that, and how to attract new patients to a family medicine practice. It focuses on leveraging social media channels, search engine optimization, and social media.

Paul Thomas, MD presenting at the DPC Summit 2021 hosted by the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Reviews for Dr. Paul Thomas at the DPC Summit 2021

Dr. Paul Thomas’ session at the DPC Summit 2021 hosted by the American Academy of Family Physicians received high reviews for the effectiveness, clarity, organization, and subject knowledge of the presentation. Dr. Thomas’ presentation focused on Branding and Marketing for Direct Primary Care Doctors.

Here are some of the reviews for Dr. Paul Thomas’ presentation at the DPC Summit 2021:

• This is consistently one of the best presentations that provides the most relevant content for the doctor just starting out their DPC practice. I would recommend this particular session for anyone before they decide on a name, even, as the information provided about that simple (not so simple) decision can make the rest of marketing, branding, etc. even easier.

• Dr. Thomas was excellent as always! Gained a lot of insight into how to run social media with a DPC practice. Wow, that guy has energy. wondering when he has time to do any patient care with all that energy in marketing. If I decide to do this I will definitely use his information as a resource.

• Enthusiasm and clear joy in practice was inspiring -- appreciate the broad overview of the basics that go in to branding as well as the resources shared

• Dr. Paul, your book is great! Would like to visit you/your practice before I start my own DPC in California on 2022.

• Wow, I learned so much from this. I feel like I know so little. This was wonderful

• Really great speaker with passion.

• Outstanding marketing info. Great principles. I'll be studying this!

• Wonderful lecture for options and guidance on marketing

• Such a great talk- thank you! | Enjoyed the book | Wonderful presentation!

Dr. Paul Thomas’ session at the DPC Summit 2021 hosted by the American Academy of Family Physicians received high reviews for the effectiveness, clarity, organization, and subject knowledge of the presentation. Dr. Thomas’ presentation focused on Branding and Marketing for Direct Primary Care Doctors.

You can see the full agenda for the DPC Summit, here: http://www.dpcsummit.org/agenda.html

What Dr. Jade Had to Say About our DPC Master Class

On May 14th and 15th, we hosted our DPC Master Class 2021 at our Plum Health Office in Detroit. We hosted students in-person from Las Vegas Nevada, Florida, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Spokane Washington; we also had students join us virtually for our live-streamed content.

We received a glowing review from Dr. Jade Norris who came to Detroit to learn how to start and grow her Direct Primary Care practice. She hopes to take back this knowledge to her hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada and to serve her community with affordable and accessible healthcare.

Here’s what Dr. Jade had to say:

✨ Mentorship is essential! Detroit was awesome!
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✨ This weekend I visited Dr. Paul Thomas of @plumhealthdpc for his Direct Primary Care Masterclass!
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✨ Dr. Paul has one of the most successful Direct Primary Care practices in the country and also started his practice straight from residency!
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✨I learned so much this weekend and I’m so thankful for the mentorship! I can’t wait to bring quality, affordable and accessible healthcare to Las Vegas in 2022!
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✨@nspireprimarycare is in the planning stages and I’m trusting God every step of the way!

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A post shared by Dr. Jade- Wellness Specialist (@drjademd)

The DPC Master Class is Returning August 20th and 21st

The DPC Master Class is returning August 20th and 21st! We’ll be hosting at our Detroit office and teaching doctors how to start and grow their DPC practices in a unique, in-person event! Join us by enrolling here.

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

The Confidence You Need to Start Your Own Direct Primary Care Practice

Startup DPC book hits 51 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reviews

Our book, Startup DPC: How to Start and Grow Your Direct Primary Care Practice just received its 51st review, and it has a 5-star rating overall. Our latest reviewer, Kyle, said that “After reading this book, I feel much more confident about opening my new DPC practice next year. This is a comprehensive guide, highly recommended.”

Thank you so much Kyle, and thank you to all of the people who’ve picked up a copy of our awesome book on starting and growing a direct primary care practice!

I am truly humbled by all of the kindness and positive feedback that I’ve received after publishing this book. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

-Dr. Paul Thomas with Startup DPC

Our book, Startup DPC: How to Start and Grow Your Direct Primary Care Practice just received its 51st review, and it has a 5-star rating overall.

Startup DPC Book Helps Doctors Start and Grow Their Direct Primary Care Practices

This week, I got a very kind text message from a doctor who is on the verge of starting their direct primary care practice. They mentioned how they loved the business perspective that this book demonstrates - I think this is because doctors aren’t quite sure how to start a business because they’ve never done it before. In this book, I take you step by step through the startup process for your direct primary care practice. I give you the timeline and I break it down into simple pieces. These simple steps will come together to help you create a fulfilling, successful, and sustainable practice.

A kind review for the Startup DPC book from a doctor who is on the verge of starting and growing their direct primary care practice

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 Reaches 42 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Reviews

Direct Primary Care Book ON Amazon is Highly Rated

Today, our book, Startup DPC reached 42 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reviews on Amazon. Here’s our latest review:

Sports medicine physician looking to make the jump to membership based practice....Dr. Thomas lays out a transparent plan on how to make this business model feasible for physicians. This is a must read.

Thanks Jasper! Glad you liked it! If you’d like to pick up a copy, do so here:

Today, we hit 42 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reviews for #StartupDPC https://t.co/Oj1NvcN0tj see what the buzz is all about #DirectPrimaryCare #StartupDPC #FamilyMedicine #DetroitDoctor #PTMD #PaulTMD

— Paul Thomas, MD (@PlumHealthDPC) November 2, 2020

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

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

Freeing Doctors from the Fee-for-Service Rat Race

Doctors Are Stuck in the Fee-for-Service Rat Race

So many doctors are stuck in the unsatisfying fee-for-service rat race and they need a hand getting out of that cycle. However, they don’t know which resources to use and they don’t know the best tools to help them make the transition from fee-for-service to Direct Primary Care.

I’m really proud of the Startup DPC book and the Startup DPC courses that we’ve put together on this site, and how they’ve helped so many doctors take the leap from an unfulfilling fee-for-service practice to an amazing direct primary care experience.

One such doctor just sent me a very kind email and it made my day:

I help fellow doctors start and grow successful direct primary care practices and I love it when I get feedback like this! https://t.co/YN8WUdDEgn #startupDPC #directprimarycare #familymedicine #medtwitter pic.twitter.com/JCxtG7RNFQ

— Paul Thomas, MD (@PlumHealthDPC) August 11, 2020

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 Gets a Shout out from a Successful DPC Doctor

The Startup DPC Book is Helping Doctors Start and Grow their Direct primary care practices

This week, a successful DPC Doctor, Peter Cashio, MD, gave a big shout out to the Startup DPC Book:

Starting on the Paul Thomas Social Media Marketing plan today. If you haven't picked up a copy of his book, Startup DPC, I HIGHLY recommend it. Lots of great nuts and bolts "how to" action items to move things forwards.

Note: this review and plug was completely unsolicited. Dr. Thomas provide what my entrepreneur friends call "high value."

Startup DPC Book Gets Eleven 5-star Reviews on Amazon

This week, the Startup DPC Book reached eleven 5-star reviews on Amazon. Here’s what one reviewer had to say:

As a student of business in the business of healthcare, one challenge I have faced is helping physicians "get" core business concepts. Medical training and the path to success is based on perfection (or near perfection). After all, who wants to be treated by a physician that is right some of the time! This training however makes it challenging for most doctors to accept standard business concepts such as risk vs. reward, perfect is the enemy of good, and so forth. And I've never personally witnessed a physician willing to "meet a patient where they are!"

There are hundreds of things to learn from Dr. Paul Thomas in this book. But if there is one thing a budding DPC doc should take away from this excellent book, it is to meet your patient where they are. I am confident if you do the basics correctly and live by this simple phrase, you will grow your practice quickly and retain your patients in an enduring manner.

Excellent work Dr. Thomas!

Thanks
Todd McGee
Medical Practice COO/CFO and budding healthcare entrepreneur

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 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 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