Plum Health Blog
Dr. Leslie Rabaut is a Family Medicine Physician Accepting New Patients in Detroit Michigan
Dr. Leslie Rabaut is a Family Medicine Physician Accepting New Patients in Detroit Michigan
Dr. Leslie Rabaut is a Family Medicine Physician Accepting New Patients in Detroit Michigan - she is an excellent physician who delivers excellent care for her patients and the broader community. We are lucky to have her as a part of our service here at Plum Health DPC.
With that being said, she has about 261 patients at this time, and she has garnered that number of patients over the last 1 year. Dr. Rabaut started at our clinic on February 1st, 2021, and through the pandemic, she has gained 261 patients. She takes care of a diverse group of people from many different backgrounds.
Dr. Rabaut will likely cap at 400 to 500 patients so that she can maintain this high level of care, service, and excellence for her patients. Dr. Rabaut will likely reach a full panel in 6 months to 12 months from this time, so if you’re looking for an excellent direct primary care doctor, please sign up to be one of Dr. Rabaut’s patients sooner than later, before her panel is full.
Our patients love Dr. Rabaut and they have given her high praise on our Google Review site. Here’s the most recent review for Dr. Rabaut:
Ohhh, the healthcare system. What an interesting collection of institutions! I wish more places were like Plum Health though. For a couple years, I was stuck with an insurance company that didn't have great PCPs and then had some job changes, which basically made relying upon insurance a complicated process. I remembered Plum Health from Demo Day and decided to reach out.
Absolutely loved the attention that I received from Dr. Rabaut. After having an experience with a PCP who rushed through my appointments and didn't actually listen to what I was saying about my own body, my experience with Plum Health was a breath of fresh air.
Here’s another review for Dr. Rabaut:
I have been Dr. Rabaut's patient for about a year now, and I have to say that she is HANDS DOWN the best doctor I have had. I email her dumb (and not so dumb) questions all the time and she always emails me back right away. Even on a Saturday. She is approachable and honest. When she listens, she is actually listening. I will be lucky if I get to be under her care for a very long time.
And here’s another recent review for Dr. Leslie Rabaut:
I have never had a visit to the doctor like this before. I have always had terrible amxiety going to the doctors. Here I didn't have to wait at all to see the doctor. Dr. Leslie Raubart came in and talked with me for 45 minutes!! (At my last doctor I would be lucky if I got 10 mintues) She was amazing and you can tell she truly cares. She is very good at asking you the right questions and getting all the details. When my blood results came back, she emailed me a very detailed message explaining what supplements and a plan of action for the future. I am so glad to have found this.
In summary, Dr. Leslie Rabaut is an excellent family medicine physician and she is accepting new patients at our Plum Health DPC office in Detroit, Michigan.
Plum Health grows with a second location in Farmington Hills, hires a third physician
Plum Health grows with a second location in Farmington Hills, hires a third physician
Detroit, Michigan, June 23, 2020 - Plum Health DPC is pleased to announce that they have expanded access to primary care resources in Metro Detroit by creating a second clinic location in Farmington Hills, Michigan.
Plum Health DPC currently operates a thriving location in Corktown Detroit with Doctors Paul Thomas, MD and Raquel Orlich, DO. Plum Health has selected Farmington Hills for its second location because of the increasing demand for Plum Health’s innovative services and the desire to be more easily accessible to patients throughout Metro Detroit.
Jamie Qualls, DO, MPH will start with Plum Health DPC at their new office location in Farmington Hills, Michigan on July 1st, 2020.
The Farmington Hills location opens on July 1st, 2020 and will be led by Jamie Qualls, DO, MPH who is passionate about forming strong relationships with her patients. Her clinical interests include community health, chronic disease prevention and reversal using food as medicine, LGBTQ-friendly medicine, and osteopathic manual medicine for chronic musculoskeletal issues.
Dr. Qualls is a graduate of Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed her residency training at Ascension Providence Hospital. Further, she is excited about expanding access to primary care in Metro Detroit.
“Direct Primary Care gives me enough time to work with my patients to address the root cause of chronic illness. In short, I have enough time in the DPC model to be comprehensive in my care,” noted Dr. Qualls when asked why she chose to join a direct primary care practice over a traditional fee-for-service model.
"We believe that healthcare should be affordable and accessible for everyone, that’s why we’re growing into this second location – to expand access to care," says Dr. Paul Thomas, who for the last three-and-a-half years, has been serving residents in Detroit and beyond from Plum Health's Corktown office.
There are currently 750 members in the practice who are cared for by Drs. Paul Thomas and Raquel Orlich. Dr. Qualls' arrival will allow Plum Health to care for an additional 500 patients.
Direct Primary Care (DPC) physicians do not bill or use insurance, which means they can provide their patients with steeply discounted medications, labs, imaging services, and procedures. This practice model allows patients to have a direct relationship with their primary care physician by enrolling in an affordable subscription-based service.
A Plum Health subscription is between $10 and $89 per month. Further, DPC doctors like Dr. Qualls make themselves available by phone, text message, or video call. This connectivity makes getting care even more convenient for their patients.
The new office is located at 25882 Orchard Lake Road, Suite 200B, Farmington Hills, MI 48336.
Media Contact
Dr. Paul Thomas, MD
Founder & Physician
Plum Health DPC
(313) 444 - 5630
More about Plum Health DPC
At Plum Health, we believe that health care should be affordable and accessible for everyone. Members of the practice can call, text, or email the doctor anytime they need health care services. We guarantee same-day/next-day appointments. Additionally, patients have access to wholesale medications, at-cost imaging services, and at-cost lab work. Plum Health began in November 2016 with 8 patients, and now has 750 active patients, spanning in age from 4 months to 101 years of age. Our vision is to provide the best healthcare experience in Detroit and beyond.
More about Paul Thomas, MD and Jamie Qualls, DO, MPH
Dr. Paul Thomas 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 is a Clinical Assistant Professor at Wayne State University School of Medicine. He served as Chief Resident at Oakwood Family Medicine Residency Program. 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 and is an author of the book Direct Primary Care: The Cure for Our Broken Healthcare System.
Dr. Jamie Qualls, MD, MPH is both a family medicine physician and a master of public health. She is able to take care of patients individually and the greater community with her additional training. She is passionate about forming strong relationships with her patients. Her clinical interests include community and public health, chronic disease prevention and reversal using a food as medicine approach, LGBTQ-friendly medicine, and osteopathic manual medicine for chronic musculoskeletal issues. She is a graduate of Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed her residency training at Ascension Providence Hospital.
More about Direct Primary Care
The direct primary care (DPC) model gives family physicians a meaningful alternative to fee-for-service insurance billing, typically by charging patients a monthly, quarterly, or annual fee (i.e., a retainer) that covers all or most primary care services including clinical, laboratory, and consultative services, and care coordination and comprehensive care management. Because some services are not covered by a retainer, DPC practices often suggest that patients acquire a high-deductible wraparound policy to cover emergencies.
Direct primary care benefits patients by providing substantial savings and a greater degree of access to, and time with, physicians.
Taken from the American Academy of Family Physicians website.
Paul Thomas MD Interviewed on Model D Media
On April 7th, 2020, Dr. Paul Thomas was interviewed by Dorothy Hernandez during Model D Media’s Facebook Live stream. The topic was Coronavirus and how we are managing this pandemic in the Detroit community.
Here’s what Model D Media wrote about this:
Editor’s note: This guest column by Dr. Paul Thomas, a family medicine doctor and founder of Plum Health Direct Primary Care, has been adapted from this blog post on the health center's website. Click here for the full post published on April 4.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought an overload of information — and there's a lot of misinformation out there. Do you have a question for Dr. Thomas about coronavirus? Join us on our Facebook page for a Facebook Live Q&A at 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 8, with Dr. Thomas.
Q: Which counties nationwide have been impacted the most by coronavirus?
A: From the perspective of the number of cases and the number of deaths, the following counties/areas have been impacted the most by the coronavirus:
New York City (Queens, Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island)
Wayne County, Michigan
King County, Washington
Orleans County, Louisiana
Cook County, Illinois
Oakland County, Michigan
Bergen County, New Jersey
This comes from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center and it's notable that Michigan has two neighboring counties in the top six hardest-hit counties: Wayne County and Oakland County.
Q: Why has Michigan and Southeast Michigan been hit so hard by the coronavirus?
A: Bridge Magazine wrote an excellent article on this and I agree with their assessment with one addition that we haven't been talking about.
In the article, Bridge Magazine talks about the following factors causing Michigan to be more susceptible to the virus:
Automotive trade with suppliers in Wuhan China
Detroit Metro Airport with Direct Flights to Wuhan, China
Michigan’s March 10th Presidential Primary
Ties between Detroit and Italy via Fiat Chrysler (FCA)
In addition to these factors, I would want to add a few others, including higher rates of overweight and obesity in Detroit and Michigan - rate of overweight is 47.5% in Detroit (34% in NYC) and rate of obesity is 34.6% in Detroit (22% in NYC).
All of these factors have led to a higher case fatality rate here in Detroit and Michigan than the national case fatality rate:
National case fatality rate is 2.47%
Michigan case fatality rate is 3.75%
Detroit case fatality rate is 3.29%
Q: What are the comorbid conditions increasing the risk of mortality in COVID-19 positive patients?
A: [Last] week, I spoke with a physician colleague at one of the nearby regional hospital systems and we discussed the conditions that lead to a higher mortality rate. These comorbid conditions are as follows:
Cardiovascular disease (High blood pressure)
Diabetes
Pulmonary Disease
Obesity
Cancer
These factors that we discussed were similar to those studied in Wuhan, China.
While it’s still too early to state exactly why this is the case, I have a few theories. First, African American folks have higher rates of diabetes, hypertension, and obesity than their white counterparts here in Detroit and in Michigan. As we stated above, these are risk factors for higher mortality from the coronavirus. Next, African American people may be more likely to depend on low and minimum wage jobs that put them at a higher risk of contracting the coronavirus.
Q: Should I wear a mask to prevent the spread of the coronavirus?
A: Yes, the CDC now recommends that all Americans wear a mask when in a place where they have a higher chance of contracting the Coronavirus, like grocery stores. This can be a cloth or fabric mask. Please wash these each day if you wear them. Please do not hoard surgical or N95 masks as these are needed at hospitals at this time.
Q: What can you do to slow down the coronavirus?
A:
Stay at home
Donate extra supplies to hospitals or your primary care doctor’s office
Unused N95 masks
Unused nitrile gloves
Donate blood
DO NOT congregate in large groups
DO NOT visit elderly or vulnerable relatives, even if you feel fine
Act as though you have the virus