Search Results for: direct primary care

There are 2 emerging trends in the US around primary care services: (1) concierge medicine and (2) direct primary care (DPC).

Current problems in primary care:

These two similar but uniquely different models of healthcare are trying to solve some common problems in our primary care system. Patients are seeking personalized healthcare with a physician that they know, like, and trust. Also, they would like to have access to that physician when they need it. 

Unfortunately, It is difficult to get a timely appointment in most primary care offices. On average it takes 26 days to get an appointment to see a doctor. This is due to a combination of a physician shortage and the need for physicians to see more patients (in short appointment slots) due to the decreasing payments from insurance. It is typically difficult to speak directly with your doctor outside of office visits due the large number of patients that they see on a daily basis. This leads to hurried doctor visits after long waits in the clinic and then being limited to 1-2 concerns during the visit so the doctor can rush to the next patient. 

Concierge medicine and DPC seek to solve these problems:

Direct primary care and concierge medicine both work to provide a higher level of service to their patients by having increased access and longer office visits. To make this model of personalized healthcare work they seek payment outside of the insurance system. 

In the concierge model, patients pay a membership fee to be part of the practice AND the practice also bills the patient’s insurance. Typically they commit to at least a year long membership. 

Direct primary care (DPC) does not accept insurance for office visits and instead has a low monthly membership fee that allows direct access to their physician through in person or video visits, text, email, or phone calls. 

DPC vs Concierge Medicine

In addition, DPC practices typically offer discount pricing on labs, medications, and imaging. 

For example, at Blue Ocean Family Medicine, medications can be dispensed from the office at a low cost, often less than what you can pay at the pharmacy with insurance. Recently, we dispensed 90 days of a blood pressure medication for $0.20. Also, we contract directly with labcorp to get low cost labs and work with imaging centers to get the lowest available pricing. 

If you live in Hendersonville, or the Nashville area, then please schedule a free no-obligation visit to learn more about how DPC works at Blue Ocean Family Medicine. 

If you are interested in finding a DPC practice near you then check out https://mapper.dpcfrontier.com/

To find a concierge family medicine practice search findmydirectdoctor.com/cm/cfm

The cost of health insurance keeps increasing. Higher premiums. Increased co-pays. More out of pocket expenses. With all of these changes in healthcare, this typically means more out of pocket expenses — including the cost of medications.

I am always looking for ways to help patients save money on their medications. Here are 6 ways to help lower the cost of prescriptions.

1. Ask for generics.

Generic medications are made available after patents on medications have expired. These medications are made by a different company than the original manufacturer of the medication but are the same chemical compound. Using generics can help you save a lot of money, and they work well. Don’t be afraid to ask for generics at your next visit.

2. Price compare.

Medication cost can vary greatly depending on the pharmacy you use. I have seen the cost of a medication vary greatly. Today I found a medication that cost $212 at one pharmacy cost only $54 at another pharmacy. Also, just because your blood pressure medication is cheaper at one pharmacy doesn’t mean that they will have the best deal on your thyroid medication. I like to use the website GoodRX.com to do price comparison. In addition to finding the best price you can get prescription coupons. Which brings me to #3.

3. Use prescription coupons.

GoodRX.com has discount coupons for medications. You do need to know the specific name, strength, and quantity to get the correct coupon. This can be a huge savings. It isn’t uncommon to see a 70-80% savings. If you really want to save money then combine price comparison and use the coupon at the pharmacy that has the lowest price.

4. Get it through mail order.

As a way to save money, many insurance companies are encouraging their members to use mail order pharmacies. This saves the company money as they are working with a single pharmacy and they can contract for better rates due to a larger buying power. Some insurance plans will let you have a $0 copay for mail order pharmacies or a substantial discount. Check with your insurance company to see if they work with a mail order pharmacy.

5. Get a 90 day supply.

Most pharmacies will give you a discount by getting your medications for 90 days at a time. Although this may not be a huge savings it can really add up over a year. For example, if you take 3 blood pressure medications (generic cost is $4 per month per script) you could get a three month supply for $9 — a savings of 1 dollar per month. At 3 scripts a month for a year at regular price it would be $144 for the medications for a year. At a 90 day supply cost for 1 year it would cost $108 for a savings of $36 dollars per year.

6. Join a direct primary care clinic.

Find a direct primary care clinic that dispenses medications, like we do at Blue Ocean Family Medicine. If you aren’t in TN you can look for one here mapper.dpcfrontier.com. This can be a huge cost savings. Look at the savings available for just 1 medication.

Getting the medication as a member of our clinic is a savings of 93% over retail and 67% less than GoodRx. If you would like to join us at Blue Ocean Family Medicine then register here.

If you have any helpful suggestions for saving money on medications leave a comment.