FAQ's
Direct primary care is a new healthcare model that prioritizes your essential healthcare needs in ways that traditional healthcare does not. Direct primary care puts you — the patient — first and restores the quality of the patient-doctor relationship. Direct primary care providers make time to see patients. They don’t rush through appointments, and they proactively create treatment plans.
For a low monthly fee, patients get unlimited office visits that don’t require copays. You can access your provider by phone, text, email, or video chat. Scheduling appointments is easy and convenient. Experience the benefit of same-day or next-day visits paired with extended, stress-free time with your provider. You’ll also have access to discounts on lab work, pathology, and imaging.
At East Memphis Direct Primary Care, all of your care is provided by board-certified nurse practitioner. Nurse practitioners are able to diagnose acute and chronic illnesses, prescribe medication, and provide treatment for common health complaints.
Better yet, nurse practitioners are experts in health education and prevention, concerned with the well-being of the whole person rather than merely focusing on the disease process in absence of the bigger picture. In other words, nurse practitioners are perfectly suited to provide preventive healthcare!
At East Memphis Direct Primary Care, we remove barriers to high quality care. This allows us to spend our time where it counts: with our patients.
Providing affordable primary care coverage fills a void in our society that has left millions of people — even people with insurance — vulnerable and unhappy. For a low monthly membership fee, patients have unlimited appointments and access to your provider. This allows Marie to thoroughly take care of each person, one visit at a time, without running up a huge bill.
No, we don’t accept insurance. The Direct Nature of our model frees us from contracts that prevent physicians in traditional practices from offering wholesale prices.
Why use health insurance for a service that can be provided directly by your health care provider for a lower price?
We forego insurance payments in order to:
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Save our patients from arbitrary, intrusive decisions made by insurers
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Avoid contractual agreements to save you money on lab tests and imaging
We see no reason for any insurer to have a say in the quality or cost of your family's care. Furthermore, the direct nature of our model frees us from contracts that prevent physicians in traditional practices from offering wholesale prices on laboratory tests and imaging services.
Yes. There are certain types of care we cannot provide for you:
- Surgery
- Hospital admissions
- Emergency room visits
- Specialty care (OB-GYN, orthopedics etc.)
You still need insurance to cover these situations. Marie does not function as the attending physician when her patients are admitted to the hospital. Once you are discharged, she will review your hospital records and provide the care necessary to ensure that your health conditions are properly managed.
We suggest you opt for a lower cost, higher deductible plan that offers coverage at a lower monthly premium. You can pair this with a health savings account to save for catastrophic events that should be few and far between. On average, 90% of healthcare concerns can be handled by your primary care physician. If you are young and healthy, you may want to opt for a Health Share plan.
With East Memphis Direct Primary Care, you don’t need to worry about meeting a deductible, since you will not need it for any of the services we provide. This alone could save you hundreds to thousands of dollars per year in healthcare costs.
In providing thorough, consistent care, we seek to prevent or reduce hospitalizations and specialty referrals. In instances where those types of care are necessary, we will communicate with your hospitalist and work closely with any specialist involved with your care.
Dedicated to putting family first, we offer preconception counseling services and pregnancy testing in your monthly membership. However, Marie does not offer prenatal care. If you are in need of prenatal care, she will refer you to an obstetrician.
Charges can be added and applied to your preferred method of payment at the time those services are rendered.
Yes. You need to sign a waiver declaring that neither you nor your doctor will directly bill Medicare for our services. Medicare will usually cover any laboratory testing, imaging, medications, or hospitalizations ordered by our practice.
You can contact your Primary Care Provider via phone, text, email or video chat. We request that after-hours phone calls and texts are limited to urgent questions or concerns.
When Marie takes vacation, she will still be available by phone, text and email. She will also have a colleague in a nearby direct primary care practice available to see you if your concerns cannot wait until she returns. IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING A MEDICAL EMERGENCY, YOU SHOULD GO TO THE NEAREST EMERGENCY ROOM OR CALL 911!
Absolutely! Today, most medical care is reactionary. We see a doctor only when symptoms arise or we feel sick. The traditional healthcare model encourages you not to visit your physician until you are very sick. But at East Memphis Direct Primary Care, you can see Marie any time. While we always provide care for our patients when they need it, we also emphasize the importance of proactively maintaining your health. You and your family will benefit from a personalized, preventive healthcare plan:
- We can prevent things from happening instead of waiting for them to happen. This means fewer emergency room or urgent care visits.
- There is nothing standing in the way of talking to your doctor. You can call us, see us the same day or next day, or simply ask a quick question via text.
- Over time, we’ll have a comprehensive understanding of your unique health requirements.
- If you need frequent medical attention, we’ll know your medical history and how to best treat you, which cannot be said for any other healthcare model.
WELCOME TO MY PRACTICE!
To keep our experience personal, we can only take a limited number of patients. Enroll today to secure your membership.