Direct Primary Care: Financial Analysis and Potential to Reshape the U.S. Healthcare Landscape

Area of Science:

• Healthcare economics
• Primary care delivery models

Background:

• The US faces primary care physician shortages and clinician burnout.
• Direct Primary Care (DPC) is an alternative model with direct patient payments.
• Limited financial analyses exist comparing DPC to traditional fee-for-service (FFS).

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a financial analysis of Direct Primary Care (DPC) practices.
• To compare the financial performance of DPC with traditional fee-for-service (FFS) primary care.
• To evaluate the potential of DPC to improve patient care and mitigate clinician burnout.

Main Methods:

• Evidence-based analysis of theoretical DPC and FFS primary care practices.
• Comparative financial modeling of DPC and FFS models.
• Assessment of patient care and cost-effectiveness.

Main Results:

• Direct Primary Care (DPC) practices can achieve over $25,000 in annual cost savings compared to FFS.
• DPC models demonstrate potential for more personalized patient care.
• The DPC model shows significant cost-effectiveness.

Conclusions:

• Direct Primary Care (DPC) presents a cost-effective and value-based alternative to FFS.
• DPC has the potential to reshape American healthcare towards a patient-centric and resilient system.
• This model addresses key challenges in primary care delivery.