Direct Primary Care
The doctor-patient relationship restored.
Vibrant Kids Pediatrics has joined with 1000’s of revolutionary healthcare practices across the country that are reclaiming the delivery of affordable healthcare.
Understanding Direct Primary Care
Direct Primary Care, or DPC, explained simply is you—the patient—contracting directly with your provider for all of your annual primary-care needs. DPC is about removing the inconveniences, the obstacles, the frustrations and aggravations that result from you seeking medical care. Third-party payors welcome and encourage these inconveniences, obstacles, frustrations and aggravations—in fact they actively create these inconveniences, obstacles, frustrations and aggravations—because this discourages you from seeking medical care. When you do not seek care, you save them money (Where have we seen this theme of denying care as a cost savings? Ah, yes, here). DPC is about removing the third-party standing between us, as your provider, and you, as our patient and customer. It’s about removing the third-party dictating to us what we can and cannot do, how we can and how we can not, when and when we may not, where and where we may not. DPC removes third-party payor obstacles and added costs, so that you are encouraged to seek medical care when you need it, and that results in better health outcomes for you.
Another way to understand Direct Primary Care is to think of your favorite online streaming service. By paying the recurring low monthly membership fee you have 24/7 access to the service’s complete catalog of shows, movies and music. You are able to access the service’s programming when you want it, and where you want it—on your TV, computer, tablet, phone or even on your wearable device. By spreading membership fees across a broad subscriber base, the streaming service generates the monthly income necessary to both curate its content library and maintain the infrastructure required to stream that content.
DPC brings this concept to primary-care. Your DPC membership provides you with 24/7 access to our provider(s) and to all the primary-care pediatric services we provide. Freed from the burdens of fee-for-service third-party payor requirements, we are able to provide you with care via a wide array of options—the traditional in-office visit, a phone call, a video chat or call, by electronic message, or even by text. The satisfaction you have in knowing all of your favorite shows, movies and music are available when you want them, you can have with your child’s primary pediatric care.
Our DPC Membership Plans
Primary Pediatric Care Membership Plan
Access to all the primary pediatric care your child will need.
Fees:
- Child aged birth to 24 months: $85/month
- Child aged 2 to 21 years: $45/month
Discounts:
- For families of 4 or more children, the combined membership fees are capped at the total monthly fees for the four youngest children. So, for a family of 5 children all over the age of 2, your total monthly membership fee is $45 x 4 = $180 (not $225); for a family of 6 with only one child less than 2, the total monthly membership fee is $85 + $45 x 3 = $220 (not $310).
- A 10% discount will be applied to the total fee for annually pre-paid memberships.
Membership includes:
- Child aged 2 years and up: one annual in-office comprehensive wellness exam.
- Child aged under 2 years: 10 in-office wellness exams at the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended ages of birth/hospital discharge, 2-weeks, 1-month, 2-months, 4-months, 6-months, 9-months, 12-months, 15-months and 18-months.
- Same or next day appointments for any in-office visit for an acute need.
- 24/7 access to your care team via phone, video call, electronic messaging or text.
- All in-office procedures (nebulizer treatment, suture removal).
- All in-office lab testing (flu, RSV, strep).
- All in-office phlebotomy services.
Additional services at discounted cost:
- Vaccinations.
Although childhood vaccines are a part of primary pediatric care, we chose to keep the monthly fee as low as possible by not including vaccines in the monthly fee for two reasons:
1. Vaccinations are not needed in every year, and
2. Not all patients can have all recommended vaccines due to their specific medical history, and we do not want members to feel they are paying for services they cannot access.
Our current vaccine pricing schedule is available to you prior to any vaccine related visit. Rest assured vaccinations are needed at known times, so we will be able to give you plenty of warning before vaccine visits so that you can budget for the additional expense. Most vaccines are less than $50, with only a few being “expensive”—over $100. - Outside laboratory services.
Our current lab test pricing schedule is available to you prior to any authorization for outside testing. Any necessary blood draw is included in the monthly fee. - Nebulizer services.
Pediatric Consult Membership Plan
Access to our in-depth consulting services for the management of your child’s complex health issues (ASD, PANS/PANDAS, Lyme, chronic allergies), plus all the benefits of our Primary Pediatric Care Membership plan.
Fees:
- Enrollment fee: $500
- Child aged 2 to 21 years old: $95/month
Our consult services are not available for children under 2 years of age.
Discounts:
- The enrollment fee will be waived for an established, active consult patient.
- The enrollment fee may be waived for an established, active primary-care patient at our sole discretion.
- A 10% discount will be applied to the total fee for annually pre-paid memberships.
Membership includes:
- One initial in-office in-depth consultation (new patient).
- One annual in-office comprehensive check-up consultation/wellness exam (established patient).
- Three once per quarter follow-up consultations (in-office or video call at the discretion of the provider and/or patient).
- All the benefits of our Pediatric Primary Pediatric Care Membership plan (so, yes, we can again be your PCP).
Pediatric Consult (Legacy FFS) Membership Plan
Access to our in-depth consulting services for the management of your child’s complex health issues (ASD, PANS/PANDAS, Lyme, chronic allergies), without retaining us as your primary care physician (PCP).
Fees:
- Enrollment fee: $1,200
- Child aged 2 to 21 years old: $0/month
Our consult services are not available for children under 2 years of age.
Discounts:
- The enrollment fee will be waived for an established, active consult patient.
- The enrollment fee may be waived for an established, active primary-care patient at our sole discretion.
Membership includes:
One (1) initial in-office, in-depth consultation (with paid enrollment fee).
Additional services:
- Quarterly follow-up consultations (in-office or video call at the discretion of the provider and/or patient) billed at our standard fee-for-service (FFS) consult rate of $400 per hour.
- Phlebotomy services billed at $25/draw.
Wellcheck EZ Membership Plan
A simple plan for those who only want a wellness exam.
To learn if the Wellchck EZ plan is the correct plan for your family, please read our introduction to the plan.
Fees:
Child aged 2 to 21 years old: $200/year
The Wellcheck EZ plan is not available for children under 2 years of age.
Membership includes:
One (1) annual in-office, comprehensive wellness exam.
Any needed form (e.g. 3231 and 3300 forms, sports physical form, camp participation waiver form, or medical exemption) must be requested/submitted for completion during or within 30 days of the in-office visit. Any form requested/submitted for completion outside of this window will be completed for an additional fee of $25 per form.
Additional services at discounted cost:
- Vaccinations.
Our current vaccine pricing schedule is available to you prior to any vaccine related visit. Rest assured vaccinations are needed at known times, so we will be able to give you plenty of warning before vaccine visits so that you can budget for the additional expense. Most vaccines are less than $50, with only a few being “expensive”—over $100. - Outside laboratory services.
Our current lab test pricing schedule is available to you prior to any authorization for outside testing. Any necessary blood draw is included in the annual fee. Any additional in-office or video call consult required to review laboratory results will be billed at our standard fee-for-service consult rate of $400 per hour.
FAQs
Other resources:
Heritage Foundation, Direct Primary Care: Update and Road Map for Patient-Centered Reforms
DPCNation.org, What is Direct Primary Care?
“Simply put: Direct Care is provider-based healthcare. Rather than being plan centric, where the primary loyalty is between the patient and a third party administrator, Direct Care makes a doctor-patient relationship the anchor of the healthcare experience. Direct Care providers collect a monthly membership fee directly from these patients… in exchange for modern access to a predetermined list of services. There are no co-pays or other “tolls” to disincent patient engagement with the care team. There are no insurance claims submitted or third-party billing of any kind. This brings tremendous efficiency to the relationship, allowing provider[s]… to dramatically improve gross margins while also reducing patient out-of-pocket costs.”
—Hint Health, Direct Care Brief
One last thing before you enroll…
You—as the legal parent/guardian—will be enrolling yourself as your child(ren)’s financial guarantor. Page 1 “Contact” and Page 2 “Additional Details” are about you, the parent/guardian. At the bottom of Page 2 under “Enrollment Status”, please be sure to select “Do not enroll me” as you, the parent/guardian, will not be a patient, your child(ren) will be the patient(s).
On Page 3 “Members” add each dependent child you are enrolling for DPC membership—being sure to check “Child” as the relationship to you. Move on to Page 4 “Plan” to select your membership plan when all dependents have been added.
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