By Andrew Hertz, MD, and Keili Mistovich, MD, MPH, Medpage Today, September 8, 2022
The direct care subscription delivery model is rapidly growing. Hint Health, a national leader in the direct care space, identified an increase of patients receiving direct primary care by 241% and an increase of direct primary care clinicians by 159% over the past 4 years.
Direct care (DC) reestablishes the primary relationship between doctors and patients without the involvement of insurance. Care is provided via a subscription model paid directly to the doctors, lowering overhead, reducing patient volume, and significantly improving patient access. By restoring physician autonomy, doctors focus on patients rather than excessive bureaucratic insurance rules. DC practices have existed for over a decade with estimates of over 1,800 current practices.
The DC model has repeatedly demonstrated success for adults. A Society of Actuaries study published in 2020 found that DC enrolled patients had a statistically significant reduction in utilization of overall healthcare services (-12.6%) and emergency department services (-40.5%). Furthermore, they found that DC achieved better health, better quality, lower cost, and happier doctors.
Comments (0)