Portland Direct Primary Care
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Beyond 7 minutes

I trained as a Family Doctor so that I would be ready to help patients with any challenge. The old school family doc used to take that skill set out into the community on house calls, sports sidelines, and town hall meetings. At some point the job description was boiled down into a job that started and ended with a 7 minute office visit. That setup is not good for patients, and it's not good for doctors. In this column I hope to start to push the boundary of where the doctor patient interaction takes place - onto the page, into the community, and beyond 7 minutes.

DPC + ACA

Hot off the Press!

In the next open enrollment period Mainers in the Portland area will be able to sign up for an insurance plan which allows them to select a Direct Primary Care doctor as their PCP. This is a huge step forward in making DPC more accessible and affordable. The quality and personalized nature of DPC will remain unchanged and of course anyone with or without insurance can still join a DPC practice for a low monthly fee. Those already enrolled in a DPC practice will be unaffected. Stay tuned for more details.

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220608005239/en/Health-Insurance-Provider-Taro-Health-Launches-ACA-Plans-in-Maine-in-Collaboration-with-Direct-Primary-Care-Physicians-Agrees-to-Form-Partnership-with-MaineHealth-to-Increase-Patient-Access-to-Care

Oren Gersten, MD