Open a Direct Primary Care Practice » Atlas.md | EMR Software for Direct Care Medicine

Face to face

You see your patients every day, so why not take advantage of every opportunity to talk to them face to face? It’s certainly an option. Although keep in mind since you’re probably on a tight schedule during the day, you may not have time to go into all the details of your transition plan. Develop an “elevator pitch.” It’s short and sweet, and delivers just the right amount of information. Then, you can supplement the information with a letter containing more information, or a brochure you’ve put together with all the details. Add in an invitation to talk more about it, and boom – you’ve effectively introduced the DPC transition idea to your patients.

Here’s an idea for a quick elevator pitch to get your creativity flowing:

“I don’t want to take up much of your time, but your time is something I’m hoping to have a lot more of in the future. I’m aiming to switch from a traditional healthcare practice to a Direct Care practice – which means I’ll be able to provide more personalized healthcare. I’d love to continue your care at my new practice if that’s something you’re interested in. There’s a lot more to talk about, but I’ll send you a letter soon to explain everything in more detail.”

The written word

Sometimes there are just too many patients to deal with in a short amount of time; in those situations, talking to each of them face to face might not be your most effective play. You can send them a letter explaining your decision, and invite them to either set an appointment so you can discuss face to face, or perhaps set up a phone call instead. Wording is delicate, though, so we’ve included some examples you can use in your own letter.

Remember, the idea is to convey the principles behind Direct Care. You want to provide them better care on a more personalized level. Yes, it’s different from what they’re used to. No, the payment structure is not mainstream (yet). But once they wrap their minds around letting go of insurance and embracing medical attention in a way they forgot existed (yes, housecalls!) they’re more likely to open up to the idea.

Here’s an example of what one doctor said during her transition.

Alternative forms of communication

If you make the switch to Direct Care, that means your patients will probably appreciate these alternative forms of communication. In Direct Care, you can choose to use text, email, or even Twitter direct messages to talk to your patients – whatever works best for them! So it might stand to reason you’ll be best heard this way now, too. Of course, ask them first! Just like in the actual Direct Care model, you’ll need their consent to communicate this way, but you’ll find that what works best for your patients will work best for you, too.

So use some form of the in-office conversation combined with the transition letter we talked about to create your own email or phone script. Be open to answering questions – your patients will likely have lots of them. Having additional resources to point them toward could also be helpful in case they want to do more research on their own.

The most important thing to remember when you’re approaching patients to make the switch with you is to give them as much time as they need. You want them to know you’re completely focused on them. After all, that’s the experience you’re going to sell them with direct care, so there’s no better time to start than now.

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Atlas.md Direct Care curriculum

Making the Transition: Approaching Patients About Your Decision to Switch to DPC

Face to face

The written word

Alternative forms of communication

Resources

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