Direct Primary Care (DPC) Blog

Welcome to the initial posting in the FMEC Direct Primary Care (DPC) blog.

The FMEC is working to achieve the full potential of Family Medicine. We are a catalyst, convener and incubator that embraces the vision of the founders of Family Medicine. We take Dr. Ian McWhinney seriously when he said... "Our destiny as general practitioners is to save from collapse the health care systems of the western world." Those who follow Dr. McWhinney's vision have a responsibility to create systems of care that best serve the people of our nation.

In 2008, the FMEC created the Innovators Network in an effort to find Family Medicine innovators. The event provided a venue to stimulate "conversations" between the innovators and early adopters. If the "social diffusion model" is accurate, long term these "conversations" will lead to system change.

We are happy to report that the change is happening and it is happening faster than those trapped in the silos dominated by outmoded delivery and educational systems believe.

In 2008, Erika Bliss, MD, Michael Fine, MD and John Saultz, MD presented the Direct Primary Care model at the inaugural Innovators Network meeting. Their DPC practices were up and running. Peter Beilenson, MD, MPH also presented his plans for a member based safety net practice. The response of students and residents was enthusiastic. This model offered hope for their future careers as primary care practitioners.

After the meeting, the FMEC began a long term conversation with these "agents of change" that led to the DPC National Summit held in St. Louis in 2013 and the DPC National Summit held in Washington DC in 2014.

The Summits created visibility for the DPC movement and helped to engage the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) in the movement. Later this month AAFP's Family Medicine for America's Health will be announced. The DPC model will be embraced as one of the business models that will help to eliminate the strangle hold of the RVU-driven fee for service payment model.

We are proud to play the role of "First Follower" of the DPC movement.

This blog is a continuation of our effort to support the DPC movement. The FMEC will  not endorse or promote individual DPC businesses. Our focus is on energizing the DPC movement. Our special focus is encouraging students, residents and faculty to learn about what is possible through the DPC business model.

It is impressive what happens when you free practitioners from the entanglement of a third party like the insurance companies. When a physician's core incentive is to provide the best possible care to his/her
patients and community, their creativity emerges and innovative delivery models are created. We are inviting a broad array of DPC leaders and practitioners to share information about their work.

Through this blog we intend to showcase "Family Medicine/primary care unchained"!

"The future is here, it's just not widely distributed". Our goal is share news of one of the best models to re-invigorate primary care and improve the health of the nation.