Plum Health DPC Lowers the Cost of Prescription Drugs via Channel 7 Action News

Plum Health DPC Lowers the Cost of Prescriptions Drugs in Detroit and Beyond

This evening we were featured on Channel 7 Action news for lowering the cost of medications in Detroit. We started Plum Health DPC in 2016 with a mission: to make health care more affordable and accessible in Detroit and beyond. One part of that broader mission is to lower the cost of medications for our patients.

Paul Thomas MD of Plum Health on Channel 7 Action News

Paul Thomas MD of Plum Health DPC is on Channel 7 Action News with Jennifer Ann Wilson, discussing how we lower the cost of medications in Detroit and beyond.

We buy the most common medications at wholesale and sell them to our patients directly - without a mark up. That’s why our service is called Plum Health DPC, the DPC stands for Direct Primary Care - we deliver primary care services directly to our patients.

By delivering care directly to our patients, we remove the profit takers, pharmacy benefit managers, and retail pharmacies between you and your medications, effectively lowering the cost of those prescriptions by 50% to 90%. Here’s the cost of our seven most commonly used medications:

• Metformin 500 mg 1.2 cents/pill or $0.36 for a 1 month supply

• Ibuprofen 600 mg 7 cents/pill or $2.10 for a 1 month supply

• Lisinopril 10 mg 2.3 cents/pill or $0.66 for a 1 month supply

• Amlodipine 5 mg 1.1 cents/pill or $0.33 for a 1 month supply

• Sertraline/Zoloft 50 mg 4.8 cents/pill or $1.44 for a 1 month supply

• Cetirizine/Zyrtec 10 mg 5.2 cents/pill or $1.52 for a 1 month supply

• Loratadine/Claritin 10 mg 3.4 cents/pill or $1.02 for a 1 month supply

We do this work because we know that the cost of medications continues to climb and that people in our community need a fair shake when it comes to getting the medications that they need to stay healthy.

Here’s what Detroit’s Channel 7 Action News (WXYZ Detroit) had to say:

Dr. Paul Thomas started Plum Health Direct Primary Care four years ago in Detroit with a mission.

"We believe that medication should be affordable and accessible," Dr. Thomas said.

His membership-based business model eliminates the pharmacy and prescription benefit managers by getting medications directly from the wholesalers then selling it to his patients at cost.

Here’s the full interview from Channel 7 Action News:

Thanks for reading and watching, and have a wonderful day,

-Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC in Detroit, Michigan

Paul Thomas MD of Plum Health DPC on Channel 7 Action News

Dr. Paul Thomas on Channel 7 Action News discusses how Plum Health DPC lowers the cost of medications for patients in Detroit and beyond.

Fighting for Equitable Vaccine Access in Detroit

Vaccine Distribution Challenges in Detroit

This week, we’ve been frustrated by the way the Coronavirus vaccine has been distributed. Large hospital system primary care doctors, who mostly operate in suburban communities, have been able to get vaccinated. Meanwhile, independent primary care physicians, including our staff and other neighboring Detroit-based primary care doctors, have struggled to gain access to the vaccine at this time.

The issue is that, in our region especially, there is a corporate-based vaccine distribution. The majority of the vaccine has gone to large corporate health systems, and those doctors, nurses, and support staff who are employed by those larger health systems are more likely to get vaccinated.

This is a big frustration because this inequity in vaccine distribution will likely trickle down and affect our region negatively; suburban folks who live closer to larger health systems may have easier access tot he vaccine than those residents in urban underserved communities.

We recently talked to the news media about this issue, and we’re grateful to Ross Jones and Channel 7 Action News for picking up the story.

A National Perspective

On a National level, doctors have expressed frustration to National Public Radio (NPR) about inequality of vaccine distribution within the hospital. The article states that:

“At hospitals in Massachusetts, New York, Arizona, California and elsewhere, medical professionals say that those with the most exposure to COVID-19 patients are not always the first to get vaccinated. And others who have little or no contact with COVID-19 patients have received vaccinations.”

Possible Solutions

What could solve this issue? Perhaps we could have a national database for people to sign up, to ensure that no one is missed in vaccination and that no one receives too many doses or too few doses. Because vaccine recipients are given a plain card with the vaccine date and a follow up date, I could see the vaccine distribution becoming a problem for those with low health literacy, mental illness, or memory problems like Alzheimer’s disease.

Additionally, we could ensure that there is more equitable vaccine distribution among local health departments and hospital systems. For profit hospital systems will always act in a self-interested manner, vaccinating their employees and patients first. Health departments are more likely to reach out to the highest risk populations in the community and deliver the vaccine to nursing homes, assisted living facilities, vulnerable populations, and community-based primary care offices.

For example, my colleagues in other states and other counties have received phone calls and invitations for vaccines at their local health department. Other regions have hospital systems that act in a more equitable manner, inviting physicians and support staff and high risk populations from the community to get vaccinated at that hospital system.

Why Vaccine Distribution Matters

While I understand that this coronavirus pandemic is a once-in-one-hundred-years type of event, I will never stop advocating for health equity, especially at the community level. Vaccine distribution shouldn’t be based on which individual or corporation has the most money, but it should be based on risk factors and need. Equitable vaccine distribution matters, and we’ll keep pushing for that ideal.

Thanks for reading and watching,

-Dr. Paul Thomas at Plum Health DPC

Plum Health DPC on Channel 7 Action News Detroit

Plum Health DPC on Channel 7 Action News Detroit

This week, our clinic Plum Health DPC was interviewed by the journalists at Channel 7 Action News in Detroit. The piece will be airing on Monday September 24th at 11 pm, after the season 2 premiere of “The Good Doctor”. This will air on Channel 7 in the Greater Detroit television market.

I was very impressed by the depth of questioning and level of examination our Direct Primary Care practice received during the course of the filming and interviewing. The journalists at Channel 7 WXYZ Detroit did a phenomenal job of learning about our practice and what makes us unique.

They went into great detail about the membership pricing, the wholesale medications, at-cost labs, and at-cost imaging services. I came away with a greater understanding and appreciation for how much work goes into each and every segment that we watch on the local news and I am so excited to see the final piece, tonight at 11!

Thanks for reading and watching, teaser trailer after the break,

- Dr. Paul Thomas, MD with Plum Health DPC in Detroit, Michigan

To make an appointment, call 313.444.5630. To enroll online, go to this link. To learn more, check out our main webpage.

Full Video from WXYZ Channel 7 News Featuring Dr. Paul Thomas of Plum Health DPC.

Video trailer of the WXYZ Detroit Channel 7 News Clip featuring Dr. Paul Thomas of Plum Health DPC: