[M1ch431]

I've been very pleased with my experience at a Direct Primary Care (DPC) practice.

They limit the amount of patients that they take, don't deal with insurance companies, charge a flat fee monthly (no payment required for most procedures/visits), prescribe and fill most generic medications at cost, and most scans/tests are heavily discounted.

Appointments aren't rushed, they are usually scheduled same-day or next-day, and they really take the time to figure out how I'm actually doing. They just recently hired a receptionist at the practice that I go to, but pretty much all of the staff they have present are just nurses/assistants. They don't need a bunch of people present to deal with insurance companies, which reduces overhead.

This differs from Concierge practices, which usually charge monthly/yearly in order to see them; but still bill insurance/have co-pays for regular office visits/tests/etc. AFAIK. Overall, it seems like their rates are much higher in general and they usually don't offer reduced price prescriptions/tests. But DPC practices and Concierge practices are similar in the fact that they reduce the amount of patients that they have.

As a patient, I truly don't think doctors can practice medicine well when they are rushing around all day. Doesn't matter how good a doctor's memory is.