The dad had better not wait too long…

A family was in yesterday for a Meet and Greet. It’s a free visit to check out my DPC (Direct Primary Care) medical practice.

This is a different model, where patients pay a monthly membership fee and get essentially unlimited office visits and communication. People often mention budgeting the extra money per month. But they also realize that since there’s no extra cost for office visits, it should save them money if they need our services.

Mom signed up, along with one of the kids. Dad said he’ll probably be ready to sign up within 6 to 12 months.

I cautioned him not to wait too long. With the speed at which we’re getting new patients, I expect we could be full within 6 months.

I’m limiting my practice to about 500 patients, unlike the usual Family Practice doctor who has about 2000 patients. This allows me to continue providing prompt personalized medical care.

Medicine the way it should be!

Groceries have price tags. Gas pumps have prices. Clothes have price tags.

Why are medical prices so elusive?

If you ask how much a lab test will cost, you rarely get a straight answer. It depends on your insurance, what ICD10 codes your doctor used, or where you have your blood drawn. As a doctor, I would hear that some patients didn’t have to pay anything, while others had to pay hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars, for the standard tests I would order.

At Pine Creek Family Medicine in Avis, PA, we will tell you our prices. If you are one of our patients, you get deep discounts on labs.

But if you are NOT a patient, you can now get blood tests drawn at our office. Our prices are transparent, such as a CBC for $15, Lipid panel for $25. Drawing fee is $10 no matter how many labs you have done. They are self-pay labs. No insurance involved. We have an awesome RN who loves to draw blood while helping patients feel at ease.

You will need an order from your provider, either their usual orders, or they can use our order sheet. Check out www.PineCreekFamMed.com/services for a downloadable copy of our lab order form, which has more information.

It wasn’t the first time Tim had clunked his head, but this time there was quite a gash and a lot of blood. Luckily his wife was around to help him, stopping the bleeding and applying a bandage. It sure looked like he was going to need stitches.

Right away his wife was on the phone with Dr. Herrington’s office. “We’re supposed to go right over,” she told Tim.

Within half an hour of the accident he was lying on the exam table, chatting with Dr. Herrington, Sue, and his wife as his forehead was sutured. Conversation turned to the hours he had saved by not having to go to the Emergency Room for stitches. And who knows what the bill would have been.

As he was making his appointment for suture removal, he was told there was no cost for the suturing procedure. It was included in his membership.

Once again he was glad to have joined Pine Creek Family Medicine’s DPC (Direct Primary Care) practice, where he pays a monthly membership in exchange for essentially unlimited office visits and communication. Prompt personalized health care.

Medicine the way it used to be!

Krystal warned me that she had bad veins, and I might not be able to get her blood. But she wanted me to give it a try, since the lab costs in my office were likely less expensive than if she went to the hospital and used her insurance.

True to her prediction, I couldn’t get any blood from her hidden veins. So she went to the hospital with my lab order. Six weeks later her jaw dropped when she got the bill. She had to pay $921! And the total bill to the insurance was $2200!

At Pine Creek Family Medicine in Avis, PA, our patients pay my lab costs, plus a $10 drawing fee. Through my office, if her veins had cooperated, it would have cost her $77.47. Yes, the medical system is broken!

Since Krystal was last here, we have hired a Nurse to draw blood. She’s great at finding those hiding veins, and can potentially save people lots of money.

We are now offering labs to Non-Patients at discounted prices. Krystal’s labs, if she were not one of our patients, would have cost $230. That’s just a small portion of what she had to pay through the hospital.

As a physician I have heard all kinds of prices patients have had to pay for blood tests. Some paid nothing. Others have paid literally thousands of dollars for just a few tests, despite having insurance coverage. When I’m asked what something might cost (if not drawn at my office), I’ve had to answer, “I don’t know.”

I, myself, decided not to get a few blood tests done a couple of years ago because no one could tell me what they would cost me. It’s like we’re writing a blank check when we have labs drawn!

At Pine Creek Family Medicine, our patients get lab tests at a deep discount.

But if you are NOT a patient, you can now get blood tests drawn at our office. Our prices are transparent, such as a CBC for $15, Lipid panel for $25. Drawing fee is $10 no matter how many labs you have done. We have an awesome RN who loves to draw blood while helping patients feel at ease.

You will need an order from your provider, either their usual orders, or they can use our order sheet. Check out www.PineCreekFamMed.com/services for a downloadable copy of our lab order form, which has more information.

We look forward to helping people get the blood tests they need at transparent prices.

This morning, as I was getting ready for work, I was texted a photo of a bloodshot eye. It was from one of my patients, telling me her eye was irritated, asking what she should do. I figured she should be seen.

I recalled that I had a couple openings in my schedule today, so I gave her some options. She said she had a meeting at 10 AM, and another at 11AM, but she could probably come in by about 10:30 and hopefully make it to her next meeting.

In my old job as a traditional family practice doctor, I could never have guaranteed to see her that quickly. There was the process of checking in, the nurse calling her back, vitals being checked. And there were always things pulling me in different directions — it was a struggle to keep seeing patients while providing good, personalized care.

But in my Direct Primary Care practice I can stay on time since I allow longer appointments. I was able to see my patient, examine her, and discuss my recommendations. Then she had enough extra time to hang out for a few minutes chatting with me and my staff.

Medicine the way it should be!

We have a new teammate at Pine Creek Family Medicine!

Linda, RN, is drawing blood for us. I’ve seen her work… she’s slick!

We will also be offering SELF PAY LABS to non-patients at discounted prices. Stay tuned for details!

Kaitlyn’s mom called, asking if we could see her for a strep test as soon as possible. My morning schedule was fairly full, so we said I could see her at 11:30.

Mom explained that Kaitlyn had awakened at camp with a sore throat. It was only a two-day camp, and she could not return until she was tested for strep. Mom said she would probably take her to urgent care, hoping to get a faster answer. That made sense.

Soon after that phone call, I realized my next patient wouldn’t take very long. So we called mom, and within half an hour Kaitlyn was in my office, being seen. Strep was negative, and she was on her way back to camp before 10 AM.

I love being able to provide such prompt personalized service. Medicine the way it should be!

It sounded like Tom had appendicitis and the ER was just sending him home.

He had messaged me Sunday morning that he was heading to the ER with abdominal pain. “Keep me up to date on what happens,” I responded.

A couple hours later he messaged “It’s Epiploic appendagitis.” Huh? I figured he had misspelled something, and I had no idea what “epiploic” meant, so I did what any good doctor does… I Googled it. It sounded like his appendix had twisted and was dying. But they were sending him home without a surgical consult? That didn’t make sense to me.

We had a couple secure text messages back and forth, and finally I asked him to have the ER doctor call me. Within about five minutes, the mystery was solved. The ER doc said they see this about twice per year, so he’s not surprised I’ve never heard of it. It’s diagnosed by CT scan. There are small outpouchings of fat on the outside of the colon. If the blood flow is cut off, it can cause rather severe abdominal pain, like Tom had. Treatment is pain control and time.

I love the secure texting app, Spruce, which helps me stay in such easy contact with my patients when needed. It’s all part of my DPC (Direct Primary Care) practice, where patients pay a monthly fee in exchange for unlimited office visits and communication.

Medicine the way it should be!

t was an inconvenient appointment, and I was hoping I could change it.

Geisinger had sent us an appointment for a specialist follow up for my husband. I wanted to be there with him, being the doctor-wife y’know. But it was scheduled for 11:30 AM in a couple weeks. Counting an hour travel time, waiting time, seeing the doctor, lunch, and driving home, it looked like I would have to take most of the day off work.

I called to try to reschedule. The earliest appointment? The end of August!

We kept the original appointment, which was this past Friday. We drove, hiked up the hill and through the halls of the hospital, and arrived a little early for his appointment. And we sat. And sat. And sat. As we neared the 1 ½ hour mark (yes, 90 minutes), we started discussing another appointment we had a couple of hours later. If we were called back now, by the time we got done with the doctor, it might be another hour, and we still had to grab some lunch and drive the hour home. No one could tell us how soon we would be called back. So we left, never having seen the doctor.

Oh, how different my DPC (Direct Primary Care) practice is! We can give you several options within the next week for appointments. And patients rarely have time to sit in the waiting room. Most times they’re called back immediately. If people spend over an hour in my office, it’s because they have spent almost that whole time with me. I rarely am running late these days, which is a relief for me as well as my patients. We don’t bill insurance, so we’re not working for anyone but our patients.

Medicine the way it should be!