Direct primary care: Putting 'doctors back into the driver's seat'

With many practices considering alternative payment models, one model has been increasingly gaining traction: Direct primary care. In this model, which is similar to concierge medicine, the practice does not bill insurance for regular visits and procedures; instead, patients pay a flat monthly fee and are able to visit their physician as often as they’d like.

In order to learn more about what this model looks like at the practice level, we talked with Mark Tomasulo, MD, president and chief medical officer of PeakMed, Colorado Springs, Colo., about how his practice has implemented direct primary care. 

Tomasulo says that the model has allowed his practice to see far fewer patients and to spend more time with each. “Direct primary care is really about doctors and putting doctors back into the driver’s seat of healthcare,” says Mark. “And doing it in an economic environment that makes sense for the physician and the patient.”

Listen to our full conversation and learn more about implementing direct primary care in this episode of our podcast, MGMA Small Talk.

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