MediBarter may help Doctors jump start their DPC model

If you’re a doctor, you’ve probably heard of Direct Primary Care or DPC. If you’re not a doctor, some background may be helpful.

DPC is a subscription to your primary care doctor such as a family physician or internist. Instead of paying for visits or using insurance, patients pay a flat monthly amount under the doctor’s subscription plan to see them as often as needed with no visit fee or insurance.

The DPC model had been trending throughout the country for some time as doctors seek ways to break out of the high volume insurance model and give patients more personalized care and attention. The model enables doctors to have a better work life balance as they manage less patients while having a more predictable income stream. When patients pay directly, the doctor no longer has the need for office personal to submit claims and collect from insurance companies which reduces their overhead.

While doctors like the DPC model, it’s not always easy to convince patients who already pay for health insurance to come out of pocket for the monthly DPC subscription. However, with high deductible plans the model is a way for patients and families to control costs and gain better access to a doctor that’s attentive and not rushed. The model is also used by employers as a way to streamline healthcare costs and give employees access to care without waiting times.

Doctors are often taking a leap of faith when going to DPC, and some end up with a mix of insurance and DPC. This is also known as a hybrid model, and some doctors may go hybrid intentionally or continue with insurance until they reach an inflection point and convert fully.

In the case of bartered DPC, the provider would accrue trade dollars to use for their practice, staff, home, and personal use. This could edge providers closer to the critical mass they need to go fully DPC and supplement cash paying DPC patients. It may even work well for local employers who can subscribe their employees to the local DPC clinic via MediBarter. Since MediBarter is an indirect trade network, the local employer does not need to offer any goods or services that the doctor needs. As long as the goods or services are useful to someone on the network, the model works.

Doctors can apply trade credit to acquire advertising which can then be used to promote the DPC practice. Are you beginning to see the utility of this model? The practice certainly needs services such as maintenance, repairs, accounting, legal advice, etc. Trade credit generated by bartered DPC is just like cash; and the DPC practice can benefit from a steady amount of trade credit every month.

Beyond the use for the practice, trade dollars apply to other forms of healthcare such as dentist, opticians, medical specialist, mental health, chiropractors, etc. Trade credit can be used for home and personal needs such as upkeep, repairs, products, restaurants, salons, gyms, personal trainers, and countless other needs for the family. Finally, bartered trade credit can be allocated to employees for healthcare, and MediBarter offers free accounts for this purpose. The trade credit can simply be a bonus to use anywhere for a night out at a restaurant and show.  The options are endless.