How our Direct Primary Care model works–and what the Deseret News has to say about it!

People often stop and ask my patients and me the same question:

Wait! How does it work with your doctor?

And when I explain the “how and why” behind our model at Kestrel, I see people’s eyes light up with the realization that this is a better way. Our healthcare system is not set up today to meet the demands of our modern lifestyles. And, the patient-doctor relationship is often lost in the shuffle. Doctors today are routinely asked to juggle thousands of patients, cramming as many appointments as possible in each day. Patients get only a few fleeting minutes with doctors and rarely have the chance to really dig in and develop a rapport that could lead to much better healthcare discussions and outcomes.

Today’s system leaves doctors wishing we could do better, and leaves patients wishing they could also feel better. And once we explain our different approach at Kestrel–where a doctor only cares for a few hundred patients rather than a few thousand and thus has the time to really get to know them–it’s an idea that resonates with anyone who’s been shuffled down the healthcare assembly line.

Click the picture below to go to the full article.

It’s something I had the chance to talk about with the Deseret News in a recent article they published about the lack of transparency in healthcare costs today. The article notes how the healthcare world has spun into a complex landscape that, by and large, isn’t serving the most important stakeholders–the patients.

It’s why doctors like myself and other like-minded providers are flying the coop and seeking a better way with a model called direct primary care. We have seen the landscape in insurance with most plans having a high deductible. Direct primary care providers can offer a simple fee structure like Kestrel’s monthly membership to pair with a high deductible plan or a health cost sharing plan such as Liberty Direct.

“[This] structure frees Henriksen from time-consuming paperwork and the need for staff; one study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that physicians spend two hours doing paperwork for every hour spent with patients,” the Deseret News observed.

The article continued, “For patients, direct primary care takes away a disincentive of the traditional model–paying for every visit–and allows them more time with a doctor who is more invested in their care.”

By unfettering my medical practice from the sterile white walls of a traditional clinic (and its piles of insurance paperwork), healthcare at Kestrel really is a walk in the park. Literally. As I said in the Deseret News piece,

“I want to remove the pain points of seeing a doctor. One of the biggest pain points is actually going to a doctor’s office and clinic. It’s not a fun place to go to. It takes time, you have to take time off work and it’s inconvenient. For me, it makes a lot of sense to see people in their own environment, where they’re comfortable.”

Hence, our model at Kestrel includes home visits, telemedicine visits, and a willingness to meet you just about anywhere you’re down to talk about your health–whether we stroll Liberty Park, hit the gym, or chat at a coffee shop.

We often hear, “That sounds amazing, but what if I break my leg or need surgery?” … which raises an important point. I can handle any everyday medical need (yep, including stitches if you crash your mountain bike–I’ll even meet you at the trailhead with my kit). But you do still want a high-deductible insurance plan to cover big-time emergencies.

The good news is, these plans come with a lower cost than traditional plans and provide backup for when you need it. In the meantime, since most people don’t meet their deductible in a given year and thus end up paying out of pocket for medical care anyway, you can pair a Kestrel membership with a high-deductible insurance plan and get better care than you otherwise would have, and at a cost that probably won’t exceed a conventional approach.

It’s wonderful to see the effects of liberating patients from the institutional and welcoming them to something more…human.

And it’s exciting to have the media paying attention to this shift toward transparency, humanity, lower costs, and better wellness for all.