[Arborealist]

Is this the same thing as concierge medicine? I’m interested but it seems quite expensive. 80$ a month seems much lower than normal.

[howard941]

I don't know how to get around this problem but wife and I paid $1,500 for a year's worth of concierge care only to have the physician close up shop after 4 months. I suppose if we paid month-by-month that would have helped.

[electric_mayhem]

I honestly don’t know if ‘concierge medicine’ is a different thing, but from what it sounds like and my own experience with direct primary care they sound equivalent. Possibly different by cost or target demographic.

A rose by any other name, and all that.

[ctennis1]

We have DPC, and it's amazing. We pay $250/month for a family of 4. Some places charge less, but then also charge you for each time you see the doctor. Ours is all inclusive except for any in office incidentals - like lab work.

It's truly amazing. Our doctor knows us all well, can get responses to email or text within just a few minutes, generally same day appointments, or next day if she's really busy. Most things we don't even need to go in for - I did a recent international trip, and she just ordered me all of the needed travel medications without having to stop in.

[wswope]

DPC is just concierge-lite; the difference basically comes down to the head count that the provider wants for their practice.

A lot of docs do DPC for a while to build up a client base, then exit to concierge, keeping a third of their previous roster at three times the cost.