Direct primary care represents a paradigm shift in health care, prioritizing patient-centered care, accessibility and transparency. It can fundamentally change how health care is purchased by employers and experienced by its employees because, quite frankly, Americans associate primary care with high costs, inconvenience and irrelevance.
Taylor Oswald’s Corbin Anthony recently hosted a webinar with a panel of experts to provide a foundational knowledge of direct primary care. The experts spoke from personal experiences in insurance, hospital administration and medical practice.
Americans are increasingly foregoing direct primary care for a number of reasons.
A 2023 Harris Poll survey commissioned by the American Academy of Physician Associates revealed American complaints: how long it takes to get an appointment (31% of respondents), high costs (26%), limitations of insurance coverage (23%), and subpar focus on preventive care and wellness (19%).
“Millions and millions of people…no longer have a primary care provider,” a researchers report in JAMA Internal Medicine also recently stated.
The reality is that seeing a primary care doctor is often avoided by patients, and having a deep relationship with primary care doctors is practically unheard of. Yet by generating a better experience around primary care, giving patients a medical home, employers can save money on health care costs by reducing the need for expensive emergency visits and hospitalizations.
Additionally, employees who have access to direct primary care are more likely to get the care they need to stay healthy and productive. This can lead to reduced absenteeism, presenteeism (working while sick) and disability claims.
In fact, the webinar’s panelists explain they were each highly cynical, too, but each has witnessed the changes direct primary care has made, and the promises come with guarantees.
Panelist David Walters, director and advisor for Everside Health, explains the guarantees they offer as a health care services provider, truly backing up the program claims. Panelist, Dr. Amy Friedman explains the doctor/patient experience, and panelist Rhonda Lawyer shows what employers experience in the form of reports, data, service and savings.
Knowing employers need to save money on health care costs, improve employee health and productivity, increase employee satisfaction, and enhance recruitment and retention, consider learning more about direct primary care in this one-hour webinar.
