Conversations about Direct Primary Care with a Senior Undergraduate Student at Michigan State

Conversations about Direct Primary Care with a Senior Undergraduate Student at Michigan State

Pre-medical students have a ton of questions about their future and their careers in medicine. As an undergraduate, this can often be a black box - you can see doctors on the other side, but it's hard to look closely at the medical school and residency training processes.

Often times, I'll chat with pre-medical students, medical students, and residents who have insightful questions about medicine and the future of health care in our country. Karan, a Senior Undergraduate student or a pre-medical student at Michigan State University, allowed me to record our conversation and to share it with other pre-medical students like him.

We had a wide ranging conversation as we discuss Direct Primary Care, Plum Health DPC, what inspired me to be a doctor, how to prepare for medical school interviews, and more. Here’s a list of what we touched on during this conversation:

• How to scale a direct primary care practice

• What does a direct primary care doctor do with their time each day

• How a diverse group of doctors can best serve the needs of our communities

• Building a team that reflects the needs of our population

• Physician burnout and what may be causing physician burnout among doctors

• Patient panel sizes in primary care and how they are different between direct primary care and fee-for-service medicine

• Price points for direct primary care practices

• How direct primary care bridges the gap between Medicaid and private insurance plans

• How direct primary care practices can help people across the income spectrum

• How direct primary care practices can lower the cost of medical care by preventing emergency room care and urgent care visits

• How the Affordable Care Act codified perverse incentives in the health care ecosystem

• How the limited free market in the health care space drives up prices in health care

• The downsides of having health insurance provided via employment and employment contracts

• How we can push towards transparent pricing at a grassroots movement

• How has the Coronavirus Pandemic affected Direct Primary Care practices

• How can pre-medical students improve their chances of getting into medical school and what kind of activities can help them considering the limited opportunities of shadowing during the Coronavirus pandemic

• What inspired Dr. Paul Thomas to go into primary care medicine

• How will the health care system change over time, especially in the context of the ongoing Coronavirus Pandemic

• The three factors that make a career in medicine fulfilling

• The real reason why you should pursue a career in medicine

This conversation was a little bit different than the typical videos that populate my YouTube channel and associated blog, but I think you'll find this information valuable and enjoyable. My goal with this is to uplift the doctor and patient relationship, and help to doctors and patients to find greater understanding of each other, and I think this video helps with this process.

After our conversation, the undergraduate student sent me this note:

"As someone who is extremely excited about going into medicine, the constant messaging to us about how the healthcare system is broken, how as doctors we aren't set up to serve our community, but rather to line the pockets of insurance companies, was very discouraging. It was a breath of fresh air to meet with you to see that there are still doctors who love what they do and are working to help fix a broken system and provide the best care to individuals. " - Karan, Undergraduate Student at Michigan State University

Thanks for reading and watching, and a big thanks to Karan for engaging in this sort of discourse,

- Dr. Paul Thomas, MD of Plum Health DPC