Plum Health Blog
Dr. Paul Thomas Releases His New Book Dressing Well in Medicine
Dr. Paul Thomas Releases His New Book Dressing Well in Medicine
This month, Dr. Paul Thomas released his new book, Dressing Well in Medicine. It’s a short guide to help doctors look and feel their best, so that they can best serve their patients and the broader community.
The book cover for Dressing Well in Medicine, which is available on Amazon.
I wrote this book to help doctors and medical students to look and feel their best, so that they can uplift the doctor-patient relationship. For medical students, they are typically transitioning from college or undergraduate studies, to the professional environment of medical school and rotations through outpatient clinics and hospital settings. But, these medical students are not often given guidance on what to wear and what not to wear. There’s little to no discussion on what doctors wear and why it matters in the medical school curriculum!
My goal with this book is to help medical students look and feel mature and confident as they step into their new clinical roles and as they navigate professionalism and wearing professional attire as a physician. Ultimately, this will enhance students’ abilities to build trusting, healing relationships with their patients.
For practicing doctors, Dressing Well in Medicine serves as a reminder or a refresher on how to look and feel your best when taking care of patients, all while taking into account the latest evidence on this subject from peer-reviewed journals. Again, the goal is to foster trusting and healing relationships with doctors and their patients.
Recently, Dr. Thomas was interviewed by Drs. Melissa Cady and Kevin Cuccaro on their show The Changed Physician. The discussion was wide ranging and at some points, intense! Let’s face it - doctors don’t often discuss what doctors wear and why it matters, and there are so many challenging parts of physician attire and appearance that make for great discussion points, and sometimes, flash points. You can catch the full interview, here:
Finally, here’s a robust description of the Dressing Well in Medicine book:
Dressing Well in Medicine is a short guide for dressing well in medical school and beyond. You will need to look like a professional from the beginning of your medical school interview trail, to the whirlwind of clerkships and rotations, through your residency interviews and residency training, and eventually through your day-to-day clinical practice.
Dressing professionally is important because the trust and confidence of your patients depends in large part on your appearance, and professional attire greatly improves your appearance. A smartly-dressed, polished, and tasteful physician inspires confidence - the rumpled, disheveled, or schlubby doctor does not inspire that same confidence.
Therefore, I have written this book to give general guidelines for what to wear in the clinical setting and I believe that you will find it useful no matter where you are in your career.
As a medical student, there was no clear guidance on how to dress for a successful career in medicine. There’s no course in the medical school curriculum dedicated to appearance and demeanor. There’s no opportunity to discuss how our physical presentation as physicians can help us have better interactions with our patients or how our wardrobe choices can improve our chances of landing the residency program of our choice. There’s often not even a lecture on this topic.
I firmly believe that when we physicians dress intentionally, we can uplift the doctor-patient relationship and create the practice environments that enhance this sacred relationship at the level of the clinic, the hospital, and across the healthcare system.
I wanted to start a dialogue with aspiring doctors and practicing physicians about what we wear and why it matters. I truly believe that by dressing well in medicine, we can be our best selves as physicians, community leaders, and as leaders in the healthcare space.
Let this book serve as that missing piece of the curriculum, that crucial conversation on clothing choices and their impact on our patients, colleagues, and broader community.
Thank you for reading and watching!
-Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC
Plum Health Direct Primary Care Simplifies How Patients Connect with their Doctor
Health Insurance Overcomplicates Health Care
Intentionally or unintentionally, health insurance companies have made the practice of medicine overly complicated. As a patient, have you ever felt like you wanted to ask your doctor a simple question, but didn’t want to have to call the office, to leave a message, to have someone pass that message to the doctor, to have the doctor call you back 3 days later? I mean, what gives? We have text messaging and emails that make communication seamless among regular people, but for some reason, doctors remain out of reach.
I was watching the Super Bowl Halftime Show when I saw The Weeknd trying to find his way through a house of mirrors. It reminded me of how patients feel when trying to navigate the health insurance system - it’s hard to find your way through a distorted system with blinding lights. So, I made this post on my LinkedIn page (connect with me on LinkedIn if you haven’t already!):
Trying to navigate the health insurance system when all you want to do is ask your doctor a simple question...
This is why so many people are reaching out to their Direct Primary Care doctor - we get rid of this house of mirrors and the distorted versions of primary care and create a system where the patient's needs are prioritized.
See what all the buzz is about at Plum Health DPC.
Direct Primary Care Simplifies the Healthcare Experience
The direct primary care model simplifies health care delivery in that our patients are able to text, email, or call us anytime. We guarantee a response within 24 hours, and if you text during business hours, you’ll often hear from us within a few minutes to a few hours. This takes a lot of the anxiety and stress out of the health care experience and our patients can seamlessly access the care that they need, when they need it.
If you’d like to enroll in our service, you can sign up here:
Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day,
-Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC
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
Dr. Paul Thomas Interviewed on Leading the Rounds Podcast
Recently, I was interviewed on Leading the Rounds Podcast. In this episode, two medical students from Wayne State University School of Medicine, Peter Dimitrion and Caleb Sokolowski, interviewed me to talk about direct primary care and leadership in medicine.
We discuss the difference between fee for service medicine and direct primary care. In the fee-for-service model, patients need to have an insurance plan to access health care. This leaves the roughly 27 million Americans who do not have health insurance vulnerable and without access to health care. I started my direct primary care practice because I believe that healthcare should be affordable and accessible for everyone.
During my residency when I was employed by a large hospital system, I hated to see the front desk staff turn away uninsured patients. I knew that there had to be a better, more compassionate way to deliver health care. When I discovered direct primary care, I knew it was the best option for me to start my own practice and deliver health care services on my own terms, for the good of my patients and for the good of my community.
We discuss the difference between direct primary care and concierge medicine. In short, concierge medicine costs $2,400 annually and requires a health insurance plan to participate. In direct primary care, patients pay about $65 monthly and they do not have to have an additional insurance coverage, although it’s highly recommended. I talk about this topic in depth in this blog post and YouTube video.
We also talk about why patients would want to choose direct primary care and why doctors are choosing to practice in the direct primary care model. Patients choose direct primary care practices like Plum Health in Detroit because they can have a genuine relationship with their physician - our patients know that they can call, text, or email their doctor any time they need to. This accessibility gives our patients peace of mind. Patients choose direct primary care because they know the cost of their care, and there are no surprise bills - patients often save 50 to 90% on their medications, lab work, and imaging services.
Doctors are choosing direct primary care because they can spend more time with their patients and less time with their computers.
“I went into medicine to spend time with my patients, not to spend time with my computer.” - Dr. Paul Thomas of Plum Health DPC on Leading the Rounds Podcast
Doctors can also liberate themselves from insurance company mandates, and practice medicine on their own terms, maximizing the benefits for their patients. Hear about all this and more in the episode, here:
From Wayne State University School of Medicine:
Wayne State University School of Medicine students Peter Dimitrion and Caleb Sokolowski have jumped into the popular world of podcasting as the creators and hosts of “Leading the Rounds: A Medical Leadership Podcast.”
“We began this podcast because we are both passionate about leadership development, which is its own field and needs to be studied like pathology, biology and more,” said Dimitrion, a second-year M.D./Ph.D. student. “There are few resources for medical trainees that are accessible and affordable. Leadership development is overlooked in contemporary medical education, yet medical students and physicians find themselves in leadership roles from the beginning of their training. Other industries, such as the military and business, have formal leadership development courses, but physicians receive no formal leadership training as a part of their medical curriculum. We want to meet this need and improve our comprehension and understanding of leadership principles.”
His co-host is also in his second year of the M.D. program. Dimitrion and Sokolowski published seven episodes so far, with guests including Army Maj. Cal Walters and Paul Thomas, M.D., a Class of 2013 alumnus and founder of the direct primary care clinic Plum Health in Detroit.
The show will focus on three facets they believe are critical to their development as future medical leaders: leadership development, personal development and health systems literacy.
“Leading the Rounds” is available on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
“We also have a website, www.leadingtherounds.com, which we are constantly updating with links to our episodes and resources for anyone who is interested in following up on the ideas that we talk about in our podcast. People can also connect with us on Instagram @Leadingtherounds,” Dimitrion added.
Dr. Paul Thomas on My Dream Big Club Podcast
Last week, I had a great conversation with Seun Phillips of the My Dream Big Club Podcast.
Episode 6 Link:
Show notes:
Dr. Paul Thomas sits down to discuss:
-Health care issues head on by spreading his innovative Direct Primary Care model, which provides affordable and accessible health care services
-How insurance plans directly correlate to doctors starting their practices in affluent areas
-Done is BETTER than perfect. Spend your time being decisive in your decision making process to keep the momentum going. Make the decision and deal with the consequences later
-Visualizing your dreams and creating a system to help you focus on your goal, revisiting your system when you're down and continuously progressing forward
Social Entrepreneurs Speak with Challenge Detroit Fellows at TechTown
On Friday February 7th, 2020, I was invited to be a panelist at TechTown Detroit to discuss social entrepreneurship. It was formally called “The Leadership Panel on Social Entrepreneurship” and we were invited to speak to a group of young professionals who are also known as the Challenge Detroit Fellows. From their website:
Challenge Detroit cultivates diverse, innovative, community-minded leaders from the city and across the country, fostering their talents to support local initiatives that move Detroit forward.
It was very nice to be thought of as someone who could make an impression on these Challenge Detroit Fellows and help them grow into more community-minded leaders.
I was invited by Shelley Danner, the Program Director for Challenge Detroit, and she also invited some influential leaders to the program. They include David Merritt of Merit Goodness and Pastor of the Straight Gate International church, Katrina Turnbow of KanopiSocial, and a mother-daughter entrepreneur team behind Black Girl MATHgic, Brittany A. (Sanders) Rhodes and Veneda Sanders.
We tried to share insights with the Challenge Detroit Fellows that would be meaningful for their work in Detroit and for their professional development.
I’ve been meaning to write about this experience for some time now, and I had a few moments to put together this blog post. But the bottom line is that I miss doing this sort of work, meeting with community leaders and meeting with emerging young professionals, and helping them to take the next step on their career path while learning from them and my peers.
It’s impossible to count how many events like this that the Coronavirus Pandemic has prevented us from engaging in, but I’m looking forward to doubling down on future events when the Covid-19 virus passes us by, after we flatten the curve and get back to normal life. I miss the handshakes, hugs, fist bumps, and pats on the back, the encouragement for the journey that you can only get in person.
Stay safe out there,
-Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC
Speakers for The Leadership Panel on Social Entrepreneurship for Challenge Detroit, from left to right, David Merritt, Veneda Sanders, Brittany A. (Sanders) Rhodes, Paul Thomas, MD, Shelley Danner, and Katrina Turnbow.
Speakers for The Leadership Panel on Social Entrepreneurship for Challenge Detroit, from left to right, Katrina Turnbow, Paul Thomas, MD, Brittany A. (Sanders) Rhodes, Veneda Sanders, and David Merritt. Not pictured and moderating the panel is Shelley Danner, the Program Director of Challenge Detroit.
Detroit Demo Day Promo Video Features Plum Health
This year, the Quicken Loans Detroit Demo Day Promo Video and marketing materials features Dr. Paul Thomas of Plum Health DPC. We submitted a quote for their website as well:
“A big shout out to Quicken Loans Detroit Demo Day, who helped us accelerate our business growth through their fantastic program. Because of the exposure that Plum Health DPC received through the program, and the grant money that we won through the pitch competition, we are able to provide more people with affordable, accessible health care services in Detroit and beyond.”
I'm posting this today because the application is now live for the next Quicken Loans Demo Day Event! Read more about our big win, here, and read more about Demo Day and the application process, here.
If you’re a small business in Detroit and wanting to grow and expand your business, this is a fantastic opportunity to get more recognition in the community for your brand and your business, and if you have everything in order, you could potentially walk away with grant funding for your business or an interest-free loan from Quicken Loans.
Thanks for reading and have a great day,
Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC
Promotional image from Quicken Loans’ Detroit Demo Day, featuring Dr. Paul Thomas of Plum Health DPC
Going Above and Beyond for Our Patients
I love being a doctor and I love being a Direct Primary Care doctor. Because of the Direct Primary Care model, I have the opportunity to go above and beyond for my patients. For example, one of our members sent me a text message asking if I could bring by their medications the next day. I asked if I could drop them off that evening instead.
Text conversation with my of our Plum Health DPC members about the medication drop off.
I wanted to get them over as soon as possible because earlier that week, my patient had let me know that they were running low on their medications and on a tight schedule before an upcoming trip. That lead me to make an evening drop off of the medications on my way home from the office.
Dr. Paul Thomas of Plum Health DPC drops off medications for one of the Plum Health DPC members. When members of our practice need something, we try to get it done for them right away.
This is just one example of the many ways that we try to make health care more affordable, accessible, convenient, and personalized.
Thanks for reading and have a great day,
-Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC
PS Follow us on Instagram for fresh stories like this:
We’re on Instagram, @PlumHealthDPC
What is a Plum Health Membership?
What does it mean to be a member of Plum Health dpc?
What’s involved in being a member of Plum Health DPC? We hear this question often. So, it’s worth taking some time to address it head on. Plum Health is a family medicine service run by Dr. Paul Thomas. Our mission is to deliver affordable, accessible healthcare. We are unlike other offices in several ways. We highly value the doctor-patient relationship and we routinely spend thirty minutes to one hour with each of our patients per visit.
This time together is essential because it allows us to build a trusting relationship. When you’re a member of our practice, when you’re a member of Plum Health DPC, you have the opportunity to build this trusting and healing relationship with Dr. Paul Thomas over time.
In contrast, at a typical family medicine office in the fee-for-service or insurance-based system, doctors prioritize seeing as many patients as possible to increase their payments from insurance companies. This is why you may only have five to twelve minutes with a primary care doctor in the insurance-based system.
Committed to a long-term relationship between doctor and patient
Being a member of Plum Health means that you’re committed to being a part of the membership model. If you’re looking for a one-off visit or one-time services, Plum Health probably is not the right fit for you. However, if you’re looking for a dependable physician who is responsive to your calls, texts, and emails at anytime of day, who cares about you as an individual and not as another number, then Plum Health DPC will be a great fit for you.
Furthermore, we love taking care of people who believe what we believe - that health care should be individualized, that the doctor-patient relationship should be strong and seamless, that health care should be affordable and accessible. If you value these tenets like we do, then we’d love to have you as a part of the Plum Health DPC membership.
How much does a plum Health DPC membership cost?
A membership with Plum Health DPC costs $10/month for children, and starts at $49/month for adults. We have our full pricing structure here. With that membership, you can visit the office anytime without a copay. You also can call, text, or email the doctor anytime. Additionally, members of Plum Health DPC are able to get wholesale medications, at-cost labs, and at-cost imaging services at a fraction of the typical cost.
How do I sign up for a Plum Health DPC membership?
The signup process for Plum Health DPC is an easy one. Our online form takes about 5 minutes to complete. The form will ask for a credit card to complete the registration. Your card will not be billed until your account is confirmed by our staff and an appointment is made. We want to make sure you’re a good fit for our practice before we start billing you for the service.
Thanks for reading and for watching, and have a wonderful day.
Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC
Is Direct Primary Care the Cure for Our Broken Healthcare System?
Is Direct Primary Care (DPC) the Cure for our Broken Healthcare System? That's the question that Caitlin Morse, PMP posed to me after reading my book with the same title (link to the book).
Direct Primary Care (DPC) is a growing model of health care across the Nation, but does it live up to the hype? This is the question from Caitlin Morse PMP in her article on LinkedIn, among other questions, below.
During this conversation between myself, Paul Thomas MD, and Caitlin Morse PMP, we discuss the following:
What happens when your DPC doctor is sick or goes on vacation?
What does Plum Health use for EMR/EHR if not a system designed to optimize billing?
Would this model break if all of the patients currently on Medicaid were switched to this model?
The difference between Direct Primary Care and Concierge Medicine.
What about childhood vaccinations? Public health facilities won’t vaccinate people with any insurance, even if self-pay. I was quoted thousands of dollars for out-of-network vaccines. These are included with every insurance plan at the PCP - are they included with DPC?
How does this model handle malpractice insurance/liability? Does more of a focus on preventative care expose primary care doctors to greater liability?
Could DPC provide follow-up for cancer patients in remission, stroke patients post-rehab, post-acute care, etc?
The claim is made that 80-90% of what the average patient needs could be addressed by a family physician at a DPC facility, but it would be helpful to understand what that number really represents and how it compares to the current use of PCPs. Is that 80-90% of a patient’s lifetime health needs or 80-90% of what the average patient goes to the doctor for in a single year? Or everything that 80-90% of the population need from a doctor? What percentage of healthcare costs does this represent?
Who are the people who use Direct Primary Care Services? What are their income levels? Why should a family sign up for Direct Primary Care?
These are questions that folks have about Direct Primary Care and how they can use these DPC services and benefit from them, so I’m happy to take the time and answer them. Thanks for reading and watching, and have a wonderful day.
-Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC
Interview on Small Talk with Mark S. Lee
This week, we were featured on Small Talk with Mark S. Lee! Mark S. Lee is a good friend, and a champion of entrepreneurship in Detroit, so it was a privilege to be on the show. Here’s what we talked about:
Intro (01:45)
Dr. Paul Thomas is introduced by Mark S. Lee. Paul Thomas, MD is a board-certified family medicine physician practicing in Southwest Detroit. His practice is Plum Health DPC, a Direct Primary Care service that is the first of its kind in Detroit and Wayne County. His mission is to deliver affordable, accessible health care services in Detroit and beyond. He has been featured on WDIV-TV Channel 4, WXYZ Channel 7, Crain's Detroit Business and CBS Radio. He has been a speaker at TEDxDetroit. He is a graduate of Wayne State University School of Medicine and now a Clinical Assistant Professor.
Flashpoint Interview (02:30)
Two weeks ago, we were featured on Flashpoint with Devin Scillian and Dr. Frank McGeorge. We were able to discuss the Direct Primary Care model and what’s included in a membership with Plum Health DPC. At Plum Health, we believe that health care should be affordable and accessible for everyone. We also believe in the power of a personal relationship with your physician. To that end, all of my patients have my cell phone number, and can contact me at any time, and they can have an appointment in our office same-day or next-day guaranteed. People are choosing Direct Primary Care services because they are looking at rising premiums for health insurance and seeing less and less value from these insurance plans. We also discuss how to differentiate health care from health insurance.
The beginnings of Plum Health DPC in Southwest Detroit (04:00)
The beginnings of Plum Health DPC and the growth of the practice - we’ve met and exceeded our growth goals for Plum Health. We currently have 425 to 430 active members in our practice. People choose Plum Health because they want to have a personalized relationship with their doctor.
Why the current health care system is broken (05:30)
People are over-insuring, or insuring everything from Flu Shots to ICU care, and this drives up the prices of everything in between. When you remove the third party payers, you can lower the cost of care.
The Direct Primary Care book (06:00)
Direct Primary Care: The Cure for Our Broken Healthcare System - I wrote the book because our health care ecosystem is so complicated, and I wanted to write a book that could guide folks to understanding the Direct Primary Care movement and our practice. I broke up the book up into three chapters: the current crisis in our primary care system, defining direct primary care, and showing the impact that we’re having in our practice, Plum Health DPC, in Southwest Detroit.
REcent media appearances (07:00)
With the recent media appearances, there are more and more primary care doctors starting Direct Primary Care practices. There’s been a groundswell of physicians taking up this DPC model, because there’s been a groundswell of patients standing up and demanding excellent primary care services from a physician that they can trust.
Clinical Assistant Professor at Wayne State University School of Medicine (08:30)
I love speaking with students because they are really excited to learn about Direct Primary Care. Medical students are looking for a way to become primary care physicians without the insurance headaches like prior authorizations. When I speak with students, the lightbulb goes off, and they understand the model and get excited about practicing primary care. I love this because our country and our communities need excellent primary care physicians - they save communities money, they prevent hospitalizations and ER visits, and reduce unnecessary surgeries. From the American Academy of Family Physicians:
An increase of one primary care doctor per 10,000 people has been shown to result in:
5% decrease in outpatient visits
5.5% decrease in inpatient admissions
10.9% decrease in ER visits
7.2% decrease in surgeries
TedxDetroit Talk (09:30)
We spoke at TEDxDetroit in November of 2017 and, looking back, there have been several key events that helped us grow. The TEDxTalk, the Crain’s Detroit business profile, the Channel 4 WDIV story and the Channel 7 WXYZ story all contributed to our success.
Future Plans for Plum Health (10:30)
As we’re growing, more and more patients are spreading the word about Plum Health DPC via word of mouth. We’ve had some great reviews from our members! Excitingly, we’re growing and planning to add another doctor to our practice this year to be able to care for the next 500 patients who want to join.
Listen to the full interview here:
Thank you so much for reading and listening, and have a great week!
-Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC
If you want to meet your goals for 2019, please reach out at paul@plumhealthdpc.com or 313.444.5630
Plum Health featured in Excelerate America's Tenacity Tales
This week we were featured in Excelerate America’s Tenacity Tales! Here’s what they said about us:
Imagine being able to access your doctor anytime by phone, text or email. And knowing that you can get in to see him or her that very day, or within 24 hours at the longest.
Well Dr. Paul Thomas and Plum Health DPC is making this revolutionary possibility a reality for hundreds of Metro Detroit, Michigan-based patients.
The concept is specifically called Direct Primary Care. It's a completely new healthcare movement, one that's so different than the system most people are used to that Dr. Paul was compelled to write a book about it.
He's also constantly invited to speak about it at large conferences and galas, and was even invited to the White House earlier this month as a guest of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.
Read more about Dr. Paul's incredible entrepreneurial journey in an all-new healthcare space.
What’s the obstacle that you’ve overcome that you’re most proud of?
This has been a big year!
Publishing the book, "Direct Primary Care: The Cure for Our Broken Healthcare System", has been a big accomplishment for me.
It was not difficult to write the book, but having the intentionality to move the book from a completed word document on my desktop computer to a physical product that you can buy on Amazon has been challenging, with several small obstacles to overcome week by week and month by month.
I guess it's a good metaphor for being in business—It's not hard to have a great idea, but it is difficult to have the consistency, grit, and intentionality to advance that idea every day and every week towards your stated goals.
Additionally, I'm proud of signing a lease to grow into a larger space. Our practice has grown from zero patients two years ago to over 425 patients today, so we will need a larger office to accommodate the diverse needs of our patients.
The process of signing a lease, designing an office space, and working with several different professionals to get the job done has been challenging.
What do you know now that you wish you’d known then?
Experience is the greatest teacher, and I've made several mistakes along the way.
My biggest mistake by far has been undervaluing my time and talents. I recently finished reading "Entrepreneurial You" by Dorie Clark and it talks about having the courage to charge for your services, including during speaking engagements.
I'm glad to have asked for payments for past speaking gigs, and I need to be better at valuing my time and talents with future consulting gigs and speaking engagements.
What’s your best advice to other small business owners?
If you're waiting for the perfect time to start, that moment when you feel ready, you'll never start.
One quote to reinforce this is from Hugh Laurie, the actor who played “House MD”. His nugget of wisdom is as follows: “It’s a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you’re ready. I have this feeling now that actually no one is ever ready to do anything. There is almost no such thing as ready. There is only now. And you may as well do it now. Generally speaking, now is as good a time as any."
Fortunately I had a really compelling reason to start my business, otherwise I may still be dragging my feet about the perfect time to launch. Anyways, a community member signed up online, before I was ready to start. He called me on a Tuesday saying "I just took my last antidepressant, so I need you to be my doctor now." That day, I ordered $100-worth of medications, including the antidepressant that he needed. The next day, I received the medications and made the house call to his rental.
All I had was my doctor's bag, my stethoscope, a blood pressure cuff, oximeter, my laptop, and the medications he needed, but I was able to meet a previously unmet need at an affordable price for this person.
So, my advice is to stop waiting and do the thing. Done is better than perfect.
What’s a typical day like for you?
I typically wake up and go for a run to get my mind and my body ready for the day. Then I make coffee and have breakfast.
Most days, I work in the office 9am - 5pm, sometimes 8am to 6pm or later depending on what needs to be done for which patients. A lot of my patients are working class folks, so they will need appointments outside of their typical eight hour shift and I do my best to accommodate them and deliver an excellent level of service.
I typically see 5-10 patients each day, and use my downtime to write blog posts, work on big projects, follow up on lab results or imaging results, order more medications, and leverage my social media channels to reach more customers.
For a solo entrepreneur, I catch myself spending too much time working on the minutia of the business rather than setting big goals for the business, i.e. working in the business rather than working on the business. Anyways, I'm looking forward to scaling up and adding another doctor so that I can focus more time on the big goals.
What’s next for Plum Health DPC?
Great segue (can we use bad jokes?).
I've mentioned before, but I just signed a lease for a 1,700 square foot space because we're reaching capacity in our small, one room office and I'm looking to grow both in space and in personnel.
My mission is to serve more of the Detroit community and Southeast Michigan with affordable and accessible health care services, so I am leveraging the tools I have available to meet these needs.
Look out for big things in 2019 from Plum Health DPC!
Family Doctor Speaks at the Detroit Public Library
In October, I had a great opportunity to speak at the Detroit Public Library about health care. The focus of my talk was our Family Medicine practice in Southwest Detroit called Plum Health DPC. The DPC stands for Direct Primary Care and our mission is to make healthcare more affordable and accessible for everyone.
This talk was well attended by Detroiters and Library Patrons who wanted to learn more about lowering the cost of their health care. Folks in Detroit and across America are facing ever-rising costs for health insurance premiums and prescription drugs, ER visits and lab work.
One such Detroiter showed me the bill from a recent ER visit, which illustrates the inflated cost of medical care, especially the medical care delivered in emergency departments.
A Detroiter shows me their medical bill, showing the inflated costs of a chest x-ray, breathing treatments, blood work, and an EKG. Shared with permission.
So let’s run through this bill and demonstrate the inflated costs of health care services when you receive them through the emergency department.
This person was charged $120 for a Basic Metabolic Panel, a test that costs $6 in our office.
This person was charged $47 to check their Magnesium level, and it’s $10 in our office.
This person was charged $57 for an EKG in the emergency department, and it’s $2 in our office.
A 2 view x-ray in the Emergency Department cost this person $107, but it can be obtained for $38 in the community.
Worst of all, this Emergency Department visit was billed out at a Level 5, or the highest level of severity for any emergency department visit. This would be on par with a stroke, heart attack, or gun shot wound. Because of this high level coding, this person was charged $1,204.00 for this visit, which was an asthma attack.
At Plum Health, we value price transparency, and we want to make sure that folks understand the costs of their medical care before those services are rendered. This prevents people from being sent to medical bankruptcy, the leading cause of bankruptcy in the United States.
“A study done at Harvard University indicates that this is the biggest cause of bankruptcy, representing 62% of all personal bankruptcies. One of the interesting caveats of this study shows that 78% of filers had some form of health insurance, thus bucking the myth that medical bills affect only the uninsured.” - Investopedia article
This is why I get out into the community and speak at different events - I want to educate folks about how they can live healthier lives and prevent financial calamity in the process.
Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful day,
-Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC
Want to take a deeper dive? Read our book, published on Amazon.
Paul Thomas MD at the Detroit Public Library speaking about Direct Primary Care.
Paul Thomas MD of Plum Health DPC speaks at the Detroit Public Library about Direct Primary Care and making health care more affordable and accessible.
Paul Thomas MD Speaking at Michigan State University
This week, I was invited to speak at Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine regarding Direct Primary Care. It was a neat experience because the school has three campuses and my lecture was simulcast to the other two campuses. I spoke at the Detroit location (did you know that Michigan State University has a medical school campus in Detroit?) and the talk was broadcast to the East Lansing and Macomb campuses.
The lecture was an hour, and in the first 45 minutes I discuss the current crisis in primary care, I define Direct Primary Care, and then I give real-world examples of how Direct Primary Care is working in our clinic in Southwest Detroit. During the last 20 minutes, I answered as many questions as I possibly can.
I love speaking with students about our healthcare system and about Direct Primary Care because I see the lightbulb go off - I see them ‘get it’ and understand the model and why it works well. I love witnessing that moment - the “aha” moment.
A few students bought my book about Direct Primary Care after the event and the pictures below are of me signing the book. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day.
-Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC
Get your copy of the book, Direct Primary Care: The Cure for Our Broken Healthcare System
Signing a book for one of the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine Students.
Dr. Paul Thomas MD of Plum Health DPC signing the book, Direct Primary Care: The Cure for Our Broken Healthcare System after a speaking engagement at Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Detroit, Michigan.
Paul Thomas, MD Speaks at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine
This week, I was able to speak at the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine to a group of about 50 enthusiastic first and second year medical students on September 24th, 2018. This presentation focuses on the philosophy and practice of Direct Primary Care and the main points of a DPC practice.
I believe in Family Medicine and I believe in Family Medicine doctors and their ability to fix our broken healthcare system, to remake it into a compassionate, intuitive system that delivers comprehensive care.
Because of this belief, I speak as often as I can to medical students, residents, doctors, and allied health professionals about Direct Primary Care and its transformative power in our healthcare ecosystem.
Thanks for reading and watching,
-Dr. Paul Thomas, family medicine physician practicing at Plum Health DPC in Southwest Detroit
Plum Health at Crain's Detroit Homecoming
Last week we attended Detroit homecoming at the Lexus velodrome sponsored by Crain’s Detroit. It was an event that brought together small business owners in Detroit and members of the Detroit expat community.
First of all, the Lexus velodrome is a really cool and exciting venue! It is a four lane track and there were cyclists racing at certain points of the event which was cool to see. In the middle of the track was a spectator spot with a bar and meeting areas for the small business owners, journalists, and members of the expat community to enjoy. Around the track there was booths for small businesses to set up and that is where we has the opportunity to interact with each other and the expats.
For me it was great to see the Detroit expats getting excited about small business and the growing entrepreneurial community in the city and it was nice to have some of them lend their expertise, knowledge, and insights during the event
The evening programming/after party was held at the Corner where they had a live band and an opportunity to get onto the historic Tiger’s stadium surface and hit some dingers!
In closing this was another fantastic event and a sign of the momentum in the Detroit entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful day,
-Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC
Dr. Paul Thomas, MD of Plum Health DPC at the Crain’s Detroit Homecoming Event at the Lexus Velodrome in Detroit, Michigan.
I had a blast speaking at the AAFP Direct Primary Care Conference
I cannot tell you how much fun I had speaking at the AAFP DPC Conference, I loved it this much:
Dr. Paul Thomas speaking about Branding and Marketing your Direct Primary Care practice at the American Academy of Family Physicians Direct Primary Care Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Seriously, I had an amazing opportunity to speak directly with my Direct Primary Care colleagues about Branding and Marketing your Direct Primary Care practice at the American Academy of Family Physicians Direct Primary Care Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana.
I believe that our family physicians are the backbone of the health care system in America, and I am encouraged and enthused by their willingness to step into their own power and create ideal practices that optimally serve their individual patients and their greater communities.
I'm all in on helping my colleagues create their best practices and to become the doctors they were meant to be. One of the biggest challenges that doctors face is in the realms of branding and marketing as most family physicians have little or no training in these areas.
What I conveyed in my lecture was how to create a brand, engage in branding your practice, and actively market your practice. I'm posting about this again because I'm that amped up and because the lecture is now live on the AAFP website, here.
Thanks for reading and for watching! Below are some bonus screenshots from the talk. If you're an individual looking for this type of care for yourself, your family, or your employees, please call me at 313.444.5630 or send me an email at paul@plumhealthdpc.org. If you're a DPC doctor and you need help branding and marketing your practice, reach out to me because I'm happy to help.
Sincerely,
- Dr. Paul Thomas, MD, physician with Plum Health DPC in Southwest Detroit
Plum Health will pitch at Detroit Demo Day
Plum Health DPC will pitch at Detroit Demo Day, and there's $100,000 on the line! That money goes to the top vote getter, so we need to pack the house and get a lot of votes - help us make health care more affordable and accessible. Be in the audience, cast your vote, get your tickets here!
Also, there's a ton of news coverage about the event, from Crain's Detroit Business, to the Detroit News, and even the Seattle Times!
Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful day!
- Dr. Paul Thomas, MD with Plum Health DPC