Direct Primary Care: The Cure for Our Broken Healthcare System

This book is essential to understanding some of the most problematic facets of traditional primary care in the United States, both from a patient and physician standpoint. Moreover, it provides solutions.Dr. Thomas does a wonderful job explaining in simple terms why the current state of traditional fee for service primary care is in a "crisis." His analysis illustrates why we as patients experience lack of access to primary care, long wait times, short visits, payor blocking points and high costs of care. From the physician standpoint, the reader will truly understand why we have such high rates of physician burnout and physician shortages in traditional primary care models.The solution Dr. Thomas presents is the Direct Primary Care model, which he dissects into concise, easy to consume concepts and practices. Described as "value over volume" throughout the book, the Direct Primary Care model is explained with numerous concepts, real-life examples, and citations for the reader to find resources for Direct Primary Care. Again, the standards and practices presented will leave you with a full understanding of how Direct Primary Care is a healthier approach to primary care, can lower your healthcare costs, and have a more personal relationship with your physician through this model.As an ultimate source of proof, Dr. Thomas provides real-life examples from his own Direct Primary Care practice (Plum Health DPC) in Detroit, Michigan, including price transparency of labs, imaging and medication, and anecdotes from his experiences with his patients.Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone, whether a patient seeking better healthcare, a provider seeking a more fulfilling role/escaping burnout, or even as an employer looking to offer better benefits to their employees through DPC memberships. For me, it answered the thought I always have when I leave my primary care physician office: "There must be a better way."

It was short and to the point while being extremely informative and enlightening. It was easy to digest as a medical student intrested in implementing DPC in the future. Thank you for sharing your experiences and wisdom!

The book does a very clean, organized and efficient job in describing the benefits of Direct Primary Care as drawn out of Dr. Paul's own examples in founding Plum Health DPC. The book is a fast read which I certainly appreciated. He walks through the business model and what that translates to in actual practice in terms of time with patients, time hassling with insurance (none) and how/why it is advantageous to both the patients and doctors health and wellbeing. Additionally, he speaks to the lack of Primary Care physicians in Detroit. It's very clear that making quality healthcare accessible and affordable for patients as well as keeping the wellbeing of doctors in mind is his passion and he does it in a welcoming, kind exciting way. I had the opportunity to shadow Dr. Paul and can say that I observed this throughout his practice.The following passage, describing the choice of a plum for their logo does an excellent job in conveying who Dr. Paul and Plum Health DPC are:"A plum can be drawn with two overlapping circles. To us, this symbolizes the doctor-patient relationship. At Plum Health, there is more overlap in the relationship between doctor and patient. We believe that having a closer relationship with your doctor can allow you to live a healthier and happier life. Next, a Plum is a healthy food and a Plum Health DPC we know that taking better care of your self begins with what we eat and how we move. The choice of a Plum is inspired by bike rides to Eastern Market [a large Detroit farmers market] and finding those healthy foods. At Plum Health, we can direct you to healthy resources throughout Detroit and Metro Detroit. Third, a plum is simple, it fits in your hand and you can take it with you. At Plum Health DPC, we have set out to simplify health care for our members. We aim to eliminate the frustrations in the fee-for-service system like waiting too long to see your doctor, confusing billing and co-pays...Finally, a Plum is purple. At Plum Health DPC we proudly serve and welcome people of all backgrounds. All ages, stages, races, ethnicities, and orientations are welcome. Additionally, our price point for individuals is less than a typical cell phone bill and our price points for families are less than a typical cable bill. This allows us to serve people of all income levels"