Plum Health Blog
Dr. Paul Thomas Interviewed on the Talk2MeDoc Podcast
Dr. Paul Thomas Interviewed on the Talk2MeDoc Podcast
This month, I had a great interview with Andrew Tisser of the Talk2MeDoc podcast. We discussed the direct primary care model and why it’s beneficial for patients and why it’s beneficial for doctors. We talk about primary care, access to care, health disparities, physician burnout, and so much more. Here’s what they had to say:
Join Andrew Tisser with Dr. Paul Thomas as they talk about an exciting new model of primary care. In this episode, you’ll learn:
What is Direct Primary Care?
Benefits of DPC to patients and physicians alike
How to negotiate wholesale prices on labs and imaging
Much more!
Here’s that full episode and below I take a deeper dive into some of these topics.
The Private Medical Practice is Not Dead
During medical school, medical students are told that the only way to have a career in medicine is via an employed model. That simply isn’t true. The private medical practice is not dead. In fact, once you get outside of the health insurance model, the private medical practice is thriving.
When I first started our direct primary care practice back in November of 2016, there were only about 400 practices across the country. Now, there’s over 1,300 direct primary care practices, and the movement continues to grow.
Why? Because patients are looking for kind, caring, and thoughtful physicians who have enough time to fully address all of their concerns. And guess what? The Direct Primary Care model allows doctors to have the time and space to take care of their patients in a comprehensive manner with enough time to fully listen.
Doctor, Heal Thy Self
For too long, primary care physicians have been battling burnout and moral injury by practicing in the fee-for-service model. This has lead to many doctors experiencing burnout and compassion fatigue. As many of 54% of physicians are affected by burnout.
In this podcast episode I make the analogy of half of your lights in your house burning out. If this were to happen, you wouldn’t change each individual lightbulb. Instead, you’d call the big energy company and inquire about the electrical grid in your city, or you’d call up an electrician and have them evaluate the electrical panel in your home.
Yet, when 54% of doctors face burnout, the hospital systems and insurance companies tell them to engage in meditation exercises, retreats, or self-care activities. Sometimes they just tell the doctors to “be more resilient.”
This approach is a slap in the face for hard working and compassionate doctors across our country.
What needs to happen is a comprehensive, systems-based reform of our health insurance and medical care payment systems that uplift the doctor patient relationship rather than forcing doctors into a one-size-fits-all model of high-volume, low-quality patient visits.
About Paul Thomas, MD:
Dr. Paul Thomas is a board-certified family medicine physician practicing in Corktown 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. Finally, he is an author of two books Direct Primary Care: The Cure for Our Broken Healthcare System and Startup DPC: How to Start and Grow Your Direct Primary Care Practice
You can find Dr. Thomas.
Website: https://www.plumhealthdpc.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PlumHealthDPC/
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 Featured on the Soul of Enterprise Podcast
This month, Dr. Paul Thomas was featured on the Soul of Enterprise Podcast and we had a great conversation around the Direct Primary Care Model and how it can benefit individuals, small businesses, communities, and the nation as a whole. It was great being interviewed by Ed and Ron - they brought a high level of professionalism and integrity to the conversation with some excellent questions around the practice and the DPC model. Enjoy!
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A SMART DOCTOR RECOGNIZES THAT THERE IS A BETTER WAY?
Is it possible for family physician to operate under a subscription-based business model, priced below what you pay for your mobile phone service? What about services not covered by the subscription? Could those be priced with full certainty and transparency?
For episode 269, we had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Paul Thomas, founder of Plum Health DPC. Dr. Paul Thomas is a board-certified family medicine physician practicing in Corktown, 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. Finally, he is an author of the book Direct Primary Care: The Cure for Our Broken Healthcare System.
Below are show notes and questions we asked our guest. Use these to help guide you along when listening to the podcast (embedded above).
Ed’s Questions
What is Direct Primary Care?
Based on an interview I saw you do, there’s no wait time for patients?
Why did you go this route—Direct Primary Care?
You were burned out in your residency. What was the moment that you said I can’t do what most people are signing up to do?
Most time patients do get with their doctors is spent with the doctor typing and facing a screen.
What are some of things that are covered in your clinic?
What you are capable of doing in your practice is probably 80-90% of what a healthy patient would need in a given year?
It would cost me personally about $840 in your practice. If you’re so cheap, why is healthcare so expensive?
It’s said America pays more than the average OECD country, but there’s no price transparency in the system, which inflates those prices, correct?
What are some of the barriers you see that are still in the way of physicians getting into DPC and patients being able to access DPC?
When you did start, did you consider other pricing models? Yours is based on age, but did you consider, for example, response times, or different services you would include and exclude?
Do you have any jumpers, and by that I mean people who pay for a month and then leave, then come back six months later?
You’re now also offering rates to small businesses in your area?
And the companies pay your membership as part of the employees benefit package?
You believe that patients should also have a catastrophic health insurance plan?
We don’t expect our auto insurance to pay for gasoline but we do expect our health insurance to pay for a blood test. It’s absurd?
I was struck that in your TedX talk you used the phrase “living my truth,” take us through that, what does that phrase mean to you?
Ron’s Questions
In your book, Direct Primary Care: The Cure for Our Broken Healthcare System, you cite a 2016 study performed by Medscape found 51% of physicians experience burnout. Burnout is defined as a loss of enthusiasm for work, feelings of cynicism, and a low sense of personal accomplishment. You felt this in your residency. How long did it take you to work up to 500 patients?
How did you market your practice, was it social media, word-of-mouth, press. I know you did a Tedx talk.
I know DPC is in the same family of Concierge Medicine, which has the reputation of being just for the elite, which isn’t true. But the DPC prices are usually less than a mobile phone bill.
On the cover of your book there’s a picture of you trying to catch sand through your hands. Can you explain that analogy?
You talk about technology and how there’s too much borrowing from Henry Ford’s assembly line, treating customers like commodities rather than human interaction. It’s not very efficient to sit and listen to your patient read you poetry. It is, however, highly effective. Would you agree with that?
You also talk how the average of GP doctors have 2,400 patients. Do you think this DPC model will alleviate this GP doctor shortage?
You talk about the growth of urgent care centers in the US is a symptom of a failed primary care system.
Do you feel that people who are not licensed could do some of the work now being done by physicians? What’s your view of occupational licensing and how it folds into this model/
You mentioned to Ed that insurance companies try to get as many dollars passing through the hands. They don’t seem to like the concierge or DPC models, not because they compete with actuarial based insurance but because they compete with pre-paid medical care. Did Michigan pass a law that made it clear that DPC is not an insurance product?
Just seems to be like insurance companies would like to block this model. Is that a fair statement?
There’s obviously some education going on with doctors with respect to DPC, but we also need to re-educate patients to see you even when they are healthy, not just when they are sick. Has that been an educational process to get patients to see you even when they don’t have an issue?
We talk a lot about the market share myth, that growth for the sake of the growth is the ideology of the cancer cell, not a sustainable, profitable business. You phrase it in your book as “Value over volume.” You must be asked a lot that healthcare is different than any other product or service we buy, how do you explain to people that it can be priced like other things we buy
Your model is restoring the sacred relationship between the patient and doctor. You’re bringing this back to the days of Marcus Welby.
I’ve read that most calls (82%) are received during normal business hours, that patients don’t abuse your time off. Has that been your experience unless there’s been an emergency?
Tell us about your new venture, www.startupdpc.com.
If you could wave a magic wand to reform healthcare, what would you do? [Price transparency and quality scores was Dr. Paul’s answer].
HOW TO LISTEN TO THE PODCAST:
Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tsoe-dr-paul-thomas-on-what-is-direct-primary-care/id668653849?i=1000459295760
Try saying, “Alexa, play the Sage Advice Podcast” on your Amazon Echo
Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/m/Dnjmmdjwf4wcptom74ttgymbqam
iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-sage-advice-podcast-27588757/episode/tsoe-dr-paul-thomas-on-53897728/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/376LlZkEKLMxe8UH9e8N4J
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/sagena-47293133/tsoe-dr-paul-thomas-on-what-is
PlayerFM: https://player.fm/series/sage-advice-podcast/tsoe-dr-paul-thomas-on-what-is-direct-primary-care
Direct download: http://traffic.libsyn.com/sagena/TLS-TSOE-PaulThomas.mp3
Permalink: http://sageadvicepodcast.com/tsoe-paulthomas
Dr. Paul Thomas of Plum Health Featured on Sound Financial Bites
This week, we were featured on Sound Financial Bites. The topic was wide ranging, and it was great to be featured on this podcast. The producers of Sound Financial Bites, Paul Adams and Cory Shepherd, wrote a fantastic summary of our conversation, here:
EPISODE SUMMARY
This episode of the Sound Financial Bites Podcast tackles a topic that is central to our financial and physical wellbeing: healthcare. Paul Adams and Cory Shepherd welcome primary care physician Dr. Paul Thomas to discuss his practice, Plum Health, and the innovative strides he is making in the healthcare industry. Dr. Paul’s mission is to make healthcare accessible to those who cannot afford it and those who are fed up with the time, energy and money spent on traditional methods.
WHAT WAS COVERED
01:24 – Introducing today’s guest, Dr. Paul Thomas
02:38 – Dr. Paul defines the term direct primary care
03:18 – Concierge medicine
04:59 – How Dr. Paul’s business model makes money
06:39 – The huge markup on healthcare services
09:49 – The amount of patients a typical primary care physician has
11:26 – The pricing model that Dr. Paul utilizes
13:32 – Dr. Paul talks about the incredible growth of his practice, Plum Health
15:53 – Dr. Paul’s vision for the next five years of his practice
19:25 – Cosmetic surgery and Lasik
20:43 – Paul interrupts the podcast to provide the audience with a special offer
21:52 – The distinction between health insurance and healthcare
22:42 – Making healthcare accessible to those who cannot afford it
24:49 – The high-income earning patients that Dr. Paul also serves
26:28 – How Dr. Paul’s practice remains profitable
29:45 – The value of primary care
34:04 – The convenience factor
34:36 – Paul invites the audience to submit questions for Dr. Paul that he will answer in the next episode he joins
35:58 – Cory thanks Dr. Paul for joining Sound Financial Bites
TWEETABLES
“If you make greater than sixteen thousand dollars, you are disqualified from Medicaid services.”
LINKS
Sound Financial Group on Facebook - @SoundFinancialGroup
Sound Financial Group on LinkedIn
Dr. Paul Thomas Book - Direct Primary Care: The Cure for Our Broken Healthcare System
Thinking about Direct Primary Care, if you’re able to integrate our service with the right insurance product, there could be tremendous savings for you, your family, or your business. In short, part of my job is to protect you from insurance companies, big lab companies, and hospital systems that will overcharge you for your routine primary care services.
Thanks for reading and listening, and have a great day,
-Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC
Here’s the promo image from Sound Financial Bites for the podcast on Healthcare vs Health Insurance featuring Dr. Paul Thomas of Plum Health DPC.
Paul Thomas MD on the DocPreneur Podcast
This week, we were featured on the DocPreneur Podcast, which is created and distributed by Michael Tetreault, Editor-in-Chief of the Direct Primary Care Journal. After publishing the book, Direct Primary Care: The Cure for Our Broken Healthcare System, Michael reached out about having me on the podcast.
I’m sincerely happy to share my experiences in Direct Primary Care, to teach and inspire other doctors to take this journey to an authentic, fulfilling practice of medicine, to become the doctors they were meant to be. This is one of the biggest reasons why I continue to get the word out about Direct Primary Care - I believe in this model and its ability to transform our healthcare system in the United States.
I want to personally thank Michael Tetreault for being on the vanguard of Direct Primary Care by creating educational materials for DPC doctors. Enjoy the podcast, and let me know what you think!
Thank you for reading, watching, and listening,
-Dr. Paul Thomas with Plum Health DPC
To read our book on Amazon, click this link.