I want to give you a little insight into Direct Primary Care what it is like to be an Ashewell patient:
New patient comes in with a rash over his whole trunk, arms, legs for several years. He hasn’t had insurance and has had minimal access to care. He is otherwise well but desperate to get rid of the rash. His care is unlimited for $59/month.
The diagnosis was relatively clear, but just in case, I snapped a few good photos with the patient’s permission, texted them to my friend a dermatologist, who agreed with the presumptive diagnosis, and with a few quick texts, we discussed a differential, possible work-up and treatment options.
The patient needed three medications all of which I ordered to have delivered the following day (they are not doses we routinely keep in stock). Cost for all three medications for 5 weeks was $67.00. We ordered a routine set of labs for about $15 and added two other blood tests to rule out any underlying issues related to his rash bringing his total lab bill to $35.
He will begin his therapy and we will check in on his rash after a week to see how it is going. He will come back as many times as he needs to without incurring extra expense to resolve his rash. He will also come back at 4 weeks for a full physical and EKG without any charge.
I will post several of these patient experiences to illustrate how it all works. We hope it will encourage those that need our help to come out of the shadows into the light. By providing affordable access to routine care, those with and without insurance get the help they need, and that is goal of our Direct Primary Care.