Direct Primary Care
Pacific Grove Family Medicine will, over the next year, be changing part of the way we have been dealing with insurance industry and government payments for primary care. In staying true to our promises to provide the best possible care to our patients, we will be adopting an innovative payment model good for patients, providers, and insurers.
Nobody is happy with the current state of medical care financing.
Patients are tired of being rushed, knowing the doctor has 7 minutes (the national average) to make sense of and treat sometimes complex problems. They are tired of the waits and the apologies, front office personnel appearing frazzled and overworked.
Physicians are choking on the onslaught of paperwork, working as clerks, stenographers, computer technicians, and under increasingly unsustainable regulatory restrictions. Increasing provider depression is well documented.
Insurance companies are having an increasingly difficult time justifying their premium increases, while dealing with an overwhelming number of claims for small dollar amounts. They are having trouble maintaining physician panels all over the country and in Monterey County in particular.
With Direct Primary Care
- Patients are encouraged wherever possible to opt for higher deductible health plans without built in coverage for primary care. This, in most cases, saves hundreds of dollars a month in premium costs.
- A monthly fee is paid to Pacific Grove Family Medicine for coordinating care and helping patients negotiate the mind-numbing intricacies of the health care delivery system. We will be patients’ purchasing agents for the most cost effective, quality specialty, complementary, and hospital care, as well as laboratory, radiology, physical and other therapeutic modality expenses.
- We will offer enhanced communication over e-mail and lower cost office visits will be offered
Revisit this website as more details are worked out. To learn more about Direct Primary Care visit these links: