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In our last article, we walked through how to design your panel size and pricing using a realistic time-per-patient estimate of about 4 hours per year. That model works beautifully for many general pediatric practices offering traditional well and sick care, along with some messaging and care coordination. But what if your practice is different? […]

Spoiler alert: Yes—especially if you’re not already a local celebrity. Why This Question Matters Many pediatricians launching a direct primary care (DPC) practice focus their startup budget on essentials: exam tables, EMRs, vaccines, rent. But marketing? It’s often an afterthought—tucked into the category of “I’ll get to it once I have more patients.” But the

Every so often, a post pops up in a physician forum that reminds me just how misunderstood pediatric DPC still is. Recently, a pediatrician confidently stated that they “just don’t see the demand for pediatric DPC.” Their argument boiled down to this: healthy kids rarely go to the doctor, sick kids are already plugged into

One of the most stressful decisions for new DPC physicians is setting the “right” monthly membership fee. You’ve crunched the numbers: to cover your overhead, support your lifestyle, and build a sustainable practice, maybe you’ve calculated that you need to charge $90 per member per month with a panel size of 300. But what happens

As an experienced pediatrician, here are five lessons that I learned after running a pediatric DPC practice.

Why do some families feel comfortable signing up for a monthly DPC membership while others balk at the idea of paying “just to have access”? The answer lies not only in income or health needs — it’s also deeply rooted in psychology. As DPC physicians, we need to understand the emotional and cognitive factors behind

Is direct primary care contributing to the primary care shortage? This criticism can certainly give doctors pause, especially those considering opening a DPC practice. As physicians, we’re no strangers to scrutiny. I’ve personally encountered criticism from peers throughout my medical career. For instance, in medical school, classmates accused us of “taking the easy way out”

Direct primary care pediatrics is not for everyone. There are definite drawbacks to owning your own practice, especially when practicing direct primary care pediatrics. However, there are also many wonderful advantages to this practice model for pediatricians. In this article, we will walk through the positives and negatives when it comes to practicing pediatrics in

As pediatricians, especially in DPC, we find ourselves in a unique and often challenging position when it comes to vaccines. We believe in science, public health, and the incredible power of immunizations to protect children and communities. But we also believe in people—flawed, anxious, curious, deeply human people—trying to make the best decisions they can

If you’ve ever wondered why some people will wait in the Costco gas line for 20 minutes to save $2.00 while others won’t blink at a $4.19/gallon price tag at the most convenient gas station, you’re already thinking about price elasticity—whether you realize it or not. What Is Price Elasticity? Price elasticity is a fancy