Direct Primary Care Practices From Three Points of View

In this episode, we’ve convened a panel of three physicians to open a window on a day in the life of a Direct Primary Care practice. And while it’s true that if you’ve seen one Direct Primary Care practice, you’ve seen one Direct Primary Care practice, our panelists show us how they made the leap, grew their practices, and made it all work. Each panelist shares how they crafted their DPC practices, with stories and perspectives on what it means to provide patient care in this model, while embracing the challenges of being a business owner. 
Our panelists: 

• Erika Bliss, MD 
• Marguerite Duane, MD, MHA, FAAFP
• Byron Jasper, MD, MPH 

Hosted by Saria Saccocio, MD.
Copyright © Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, 2023

Resources:

• Why the Direct Primary Care Model Would Benefit Poor Patients (Part 1 of 2)
• Why the Direct Primary Care Model Would Benefit Poor Patients (Part 2 of 2) 
• AAFP Direct Primary Care
• AAFP Direct Primary Care Toolkit: DPC Overview
• Defining the Place of Direct Primary Care in a Value-Based Care System

Guest Bios:
Erika Bliss, MD:
Dr. Erika Bliss is a family physician and former CEO of Qliance, a direct primary care company that operated in the Puget Sound for 10 years with several clinics serving individuals, employers, and Medicaid.  She is currently in solo practice in Seattle in the DPC model.  Dr. Bliss has been active in the DPC movement since its inception and has been involved in local and national education and advocacy on the model.  She currently has a solo DPC practice in Seattle called Equinox Primary Care.
Dr. Bliss received her medical education at University of California at San Diego and completed her residency training at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle.  She has served in state and national medical leadership roles including the Washington Academy of Family Medicine, The American Academy of Family Medicine, The American Board of Family Medicine, and the Direct Primary Care Coalition. 
Prior to studying medicine, Dr. Bliss studied Latin American History at San Francisco State University and received a Master’s in Latin American Studies at Stanford University.

Marguerite Duane, MD, MHA, FAAFP:
Dr. Marguerite Duane, a board-certified family physician, currently cares for patients in the DC metropolitan area via a direct primary care house-calls based practice, MD for Life.  While she provides the full range of services to patients of all ages, she has additional expertise in restorative reproductive medicine and focuses her practice on females from adolescence through menopause. Dr. Duane is also co-founder and Executive Director of FACTS about Fertility, an organization dedicated to educating medical professionals and students about the scientific evidence supporting fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs). She serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor at Duquesne University and Georgetown University, where she directs an elective on FABMs and their role in women’s health and family planning.  Additionally, she has served on the board of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and the Family Medicine Education Consortium (FMEC).
Dr. Duane received her M.D. degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and completed her Family Medicine residency at L