Middle-aged married mom looking ahead while enjoying today I’ve been searching and planning for a few years and this year I committed to a new primary care doctor. My upcoming milestone birthday caused a self-imposed sense of urgency. I want to remain healthy & active as I age and I figure that it’s good to enter each remaining decade with resolution of health concerns that have cropped up in the previous one.
I looked last year into direct primary care but couldn’t find a participating doctor in my area. This year I found one. In case you aren’t aware of the concept, direct primary care is a relationship with a doctor that isn’t through a large medical corporation. Most don’t accept insurance and instead the financial arrangement is like a subscription. For that subscription, you basically get all the visits and doctor’s attention that you require. I like this arrangement because it aligns the doctor’s best interests with mine. The healthier I stay, the more profit she makes. This is the opposite of the standard model of care in the US and I have felt that conflict to the point that for years I have just avoided doctors altogether. Orders that she gives me for lab work, scans, and referrals do go through my insurance.
My second concern with primary care doctors is that I know their beliefs and recommendations won’t always agree with my alternative-healthy ‘let’s brainstorm the cause & fix it instead of treating the symptoms’ approach. So, during the complementary consultation (via Zoom), I just put it out there. I told her that I view doctors as consultants just like accountants and that there may be times that I wouldn’t choose to take her advice. And that I would want her not to take that personally and to respect my choices. She agreed that the consequences are all mine of course since it’s my body and she was fine with it. She has been true to her word too, I’m happy to say! As one example, I refuse to take the recommended (and risky!) drugs for osteoporosis. Now she is working with me both to look for possible causes and to consider non-drug methods to address it.
In addition, this doctor has a certification in lifestyle medicine, which means that she has studied nutrition (among many other things I'm sure but nutrition is huge for me).
I have direct access to the doctor (not via a nurse or receptionist) by portal and direct text and she has even been willing to read articles that I send to her on studies and treatments that aren’t familiar to her. I’m impressed.
For my doctor, I pay $150/month. I can cancel at any time with 30 days’ notice. My first in-person appointment (I took a list!) was over 2 hours. I’ve never had such a comprehensive discussion (with exam too).
Now I have an assortment of follow-ups with bloodwork, scans, eye exams, dermatology appointments, etc.
June 11th, 2025 at 02:29 am 1749608995
I love doctors that listen to their patients....really listen and I think things like this will become more popular
June 11th, 2025 at 01:19 pm 1749647978
June 13th, 2025 at 02:56 am 1749783405
June 13th, 2025 at 07:02 pm 1749841367