Direct Primary Care, where patients contract directly with their doctor, can improve the quality of healthcare in the U.S., reduce healthcare costs, and alleviate the current primary care crisis.
Key points:
- Primary care providers are essential to the nation’s health. Their decisions determine patient outcomes as well as the efficiency of the healthcare system.
- Primary care is in a state of crisis characterized by physician burnout, outsized patient panels, increased administrative burden, reduced time spent with patients, low reimbursement, and a shrinking workforce.
- By reducing administrative burden and allowing primary care providers to spend more time with patients, Direct Primary Care (DPC) addresses many of the challenges facing primary care.
- In spite of the potential benefits and growing popularity of DPC and ongoing legislative efforts, barriers to wider adoption of the model remain.
- IRS definitions need to be updated to permit individuals who hold health savings accounts to access the benefits of DPC, and policymakers should include DPC as an option in public programs.