CovenantMD

Dusting off the blog -- been awhile since our last post. Let's revisit the concept of Direct Primary Care. This is a reboot of a series I did in 2015, prior to CovenantMD's opening.

What is Direct Primary Care? (2021 Version, Part 1 of 3) — CovenantMD So why DPC? Why would a doctor leave the security of the fee-for-service world, with its hospital-owned practices and cadillac benefits? Or why would a patient choose to enroll in a DPC practice if they have health insurance that “already pays for” primary care. If I can boil it down to one reas...

10 o'clock last night, call rang right to my cell phone (Dr. Rohal). My patient stepped on a piece of broken glass. Looked at a texted picture of the wound, talked him through first aid, and arranged for stitches in the office this morning. This is the aftermath. No need for ER or Urgent Care. Cost to patient: zero dollars. BTW, it may look like I sowed his toes together. I didn't. 🙂 Thanks to this patient for allowing me to share his story and picture.

True story. A patient of ours asked us to check out one of his moles. During the visit, we took a photo using a dermoscope — that photo is pictured on this post. This looked concerning, so we did a full excisional biopsy, and lo and behold, it was a melanoma. Cost of procedure at our office: $0. Cost of pathology: $220 (usually about $800). He needed to follow-up with a plastic surgeon for a wider excision. Though he does have health insurance, he preferred to shop for the best cash price. A local health system originally quoted him $89,000 for the procedure. When he mentioned he would like to pay cash, this system lowered the price to $26,000. He also looked into facilities in Cancun, Mexico, and Oklahoma, and was quoted $7,000 at both (after travel). Ultimately, he went with a plastic surgeon about an hour’s drive from our office, who did the procedure for less than $700. He had no complications. This story illustrates, that you, the patient, are a consumer, and that you, the patient, with tenacity and some time investment, can advocate for quality healthcare at a reasonable price. (It also illustrates the necessity of sunscreen!) Thanks to our patient for allowing us to share his story.

In these strange times, we’ve had to maintain some distance between our office and the outside world. One of our patients bore us this beautiful message this morning. Thank you! We love our patients, too!

Welcomed Titus last week as our newest patient. He set a record as the lowest weight so far in our 3.5 year history, 6 lbs 12oz. You can see that he loves our ceiling. Welcome to the world, little man!

True story. 8am yesterday morning received urgent call from a patient with severe back pain. Symptoms suggested kidney stone. I (Dr. Rohal) was out of the office yesterday morning, but arranged for a urine test in the office, and dispense of medication from our in-house pharmacy. Arranged a stat CAT scan at 1:30 that afternoon, confirming a kidney stone. Thankfully, was small enough to continue outpatient treatment. He texted this morning that he's feeling much better (he probably passed the stone). This story illustrates two key facets of Direct Primary Care: better ACCESS to your doctor (calling, texting) and VALUE for your healthcare dollar (in this case saving an ER visit, paying for low cost meds from our pharmacy). Thanks to this patient for allowing us to share his story (the CAT scan image is not his).

We are looking for some good doctors for both our Lancaster and York locations. If you know any, put a bug in their ear! Direct Primary Care allows doctors to discover again why they went into medicine -- ample time with patients, a less hectic schedule, no burden of insurance billing, and no influence of third parties paying the bills. Feel free to pass along our email to any that might be interested in a conversation: [email protected].