At Plum Health DPC, We Listen

At Plum Health DPC, we listen. We take the time to get to know you, to understand your needs and your health goals. 

A typical primary care practice has 2,400 patients. On average, the typical primary care doctor sees 24 patients each day, or 1 patient every 20 minutes. This is why a typical doctor will talk with you for < 10 minutes before moving on to the next patient. Sometimes, you can feel short-changed in these situations, only being able to ask a few questions before your doctor leaves. 

Our practice limit is 500 patients. On average, our practice will see 5 patients each day. That gives us 1 hour to spend with each person if they need it. We use the remaining time to answer questions via phone, text, and email. This way, we can answer almost all of your questions in the clinic, and if you forget to ask something, we can follow up via text, phone, or email so nothing gets lost in the shuffle. 

Because we have fewer patients than a typical family medicine practice, we are able to spend 30 minutes - 1 hour with each of our members. This allows us enough time to truly hear what you have to say, to understand your needs, and address your concerns. 

If you don't believe it, give me a call 313.444.5630, send me a text, or send me an email - paul@plumhealthdpc.com - I will answer or get back with you shortly!

Paul Thomas, MD | Physician with Plum Health DPC

Plum Health DPC + Open Streets Detroit

Plum Health DPC is proud to support the inaugural Open Streets Detroit event on Sunday, September 25th and Sunday, October 2nd from 12 pm to 5 pm.

We will have a booth in Roosevelt Park, near the Michigan Central Station, so come by and say hello! We will be talking about healthy living and you can ask me anything about health and wellness, or anything related to general medicine!

Open Streets Detroit is free, safe and inclusive events that will feature over 70 different local activity partners who will focus on fitness, recreation and community programs along almost four miles of road.

The roadway, from Campus Martius to Roosevelt Park, and then down through Southwest Detroit will be closed to cars! This will be an amazing way for people to experience the streets in a new way, by walking, running, biking, rollerblading, or skateboarding.

Programming will include activities such as yoga, dancing, basketball, and other health and wellness activities.

Join us for two great days in Detroit! For more information, visit openstreetsdet.org, and check out our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/PlumHealthDPC/ to learn more about what we do! To sign up for our services, check out our page: http://www.plumhealthdpc.com/contact-1/ 

- Paul Thomas, MD

Plum Health DPC, making healthcare personal again

Hello all, this is Dr. Paul Thomas and I'm making healthcare personal again.

I'm launching Plum Health DPC this Fall and I'm starting my Beta Testing in September/October with a small number of members. Rather than having 2,500 patients like a typical Doctor's office and billing insurance, I will limit my practice to 500 members and charge a $49 membership fee. I will not bill your insurance company, I am not insurance, this is not an insurance plan. 

With the membership, you can contact me at any time via phone, text or email. You can also be seen at any time that you like without a co-pay. Members also get wholesale medications, at-cost labs, and at-cost imaging with pass-through savings. I basically try to save my members a lot of money by getting them deals in the healthcare ecosystem. 

Importantly, I limit my practice to 500 members, so that I can spend 30 minutes - 1 hour during each visit with you. During this time, we can get to the root of your issue. Rather than being rushed, we can talk about strategies that can help you be healthier. And if you forget to ask me something during the visit, just send me a text and I will do my best to answer your question ASAP. 

The time that you get with me allows us to build a trusting and beneficial relationship, so that I can learn about your health goals, and help guide you to better health. That's why we call it Direct Primary Care - we serve you, the customer/member/patient directly with excellent primary care services. 

If you want to learn more, send me a message or sign up at our website, Plum Health DPC. If you want to be a part of the Beta Testing, now's a great time to sign up!

- Paul Thomas, MD

The Basics of Direct Primary Care

Direct Primary Care is a relatively new idea, so it is worth discussing the founding principles. 

Direct Primary Care (DPC) is an innovative alternative payment model for primary care being embraced by patients, physicians, employers, payers and policymakers across the United States. The foundation of DPC is an enduring and trusting relationship between a patient and their primary care doctor.
 
Empowering this relationship is the key to achieving superior health outcomes, lower costs and an enhanced patient experience. DPC fosters this relationship by providing excellent customer service.
 
In terms of customer service, the health care system in the United States has failed. There are so many frustrations from the perspective of a customer: long wait times to get an appointment, long wait times at the office, unresponsive doctors, as well as confusing and unclear pricing. 

Direct Primary Care addresses these shortcomings of the fee-for-service system head on. When you enroll in a DPC practice, you will have your doctor’s cell phone number, email address, and the assurance that you can have a same-day or next-day appointment, guaranteed. 

In addition, DPC enables unhurried interactions – you won’t feel like you’re being rushed out the door with your DPC doctor. These extended visits allow for discussions to assess lifestyle choices, behaviors, and treatment decisions that maximize long-term health and wellbeing. 

How is this possible? Direct Primary Care doctors typically limit their practice size to 500 members. This relatively small panel size allows doctors to be committed to their patients, to deliver excellent customer service. 

To become a member of Plum Health Direct Primary Care in Detroit, Michigan, check out our contact page, here. 

- Paul Thomas, MD

First Video for Plum Health DPC!

We are very excited to release our first spot for Plum Health DPC. We will release more shorts like this one, and eventually a full video that explains our services in detail.

At Plum Health DPC, we will not confuse you with complicated billing or invoices. We provide our services for a low monthly rate, and that monthly rate includes all of your visits, phone calls, texts, and emails. 

We also offer wholesale medications, at-cost labs, and at-cost imaging. The prices for these services are clear - no surprises. We provide affordable and transparent services for a low monthly cost. You can sign up here.

A big thank you to Josh at Soul Media for creating this spot. 

- Paul Thomas, MD

How many people do you care about?

How many people do you care about?

When I set out to become a doctor, I had a vision of providing detailed, high-quality care for my patients - helping them with their problems, advising them during uncertainty, and helping them to stay healthy. But the reality of being a primary care doctor in the United States is harsh.

The typical Family Medicine doctor has 2,300 patients in their practice. National statistics show that the average doctor sees 1% of their practice on any given working day. For the average doctor, that's 23 patients each day or about 1 patient every 20 minutes. 

When you factor in the time spent taking vitals, rooming the patient, and typing all of the requisite information into the computer, most people are left with only 8 - 10 minutes of face time with their doctor. 

One of my goals is to address this issue and this is one of the reasons that I have created Plum Health DPC, a Direct Primary Care practice in Detroit, Michigan. In Direct Primary Care practices, the practice size is limited to 500 members. If a doctor sees 1% of their practice on any given day, that's roughly 5 people per day. 

This arrangement of 5 patients per day allows doctors enough time to go through all of the issues and answer all of the questions. It provides enough time so that you and your doctor can get to the root of the problem and find solutions that will actually work for you, rather than a shotgun approach. 

And at 5 patients per day, doctors can begin to care again - there's enough time to connect and to restore the doctor-patient relationship.

To learn more about Direct Primary Care and Plum Health DPC, check out our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/PlumHealthDPC/ 

References:

1.) Average panel size for primary care doctors: http://www.annfammed.org/content/10/5/396.full

2.) Average time spent with doctor, as estimated by WebMD: http://www.businessinsider.com/how-long-is-average-doctors-visit-2016-4

3.) Another perspective on rushed appointments: http://khn.org/news/15-minute-doctor-visits/

- Paul Thomas, MD 

DPC is part of the solution

At Plum Health DPC, we believe that Direct Primary Care is the answer to many of our health care problems in this country. 

Direct Primary Care is an innovative alternative to the existing Fee-for-Service model. You know the Fee-for-Service model well: waiting for your doctor for an hour, seeing him/her for 10 minutes, and only being able to ask one or two questions while in the office.

Well, the solution to our dysfunctional Fee-for-Service system is Direct Primary Care (DPC): for a low monthly membership fee, you have direct contact with your doctor by phone, text, email or in-person visits without co-pays. Appointments are typically on time, and the attention of the doctor is focused on you, not his computer. DPC also provides pass-through savings with at-cost labs, at-cost imaging, and wholesale medications.

DPC is a growing movement across our country that could save our failing healthcare system. As patients have more time with their doctors, conditions are treated appropriately and early. By seeing your doctor early, your cough and cold can be treated before it turns into pneumonia. Larger DPC practices have seen cost savings of 20 - 30% for their members in terms of health care expenditures as well as greater patient satisfaction. 

Patients are more satisfied because the valuable doctor-patient relationship is restored. Rather than having 2,500 patients and seeing each one for rushed 10 - 15 minute appointments, your DPC doctor has 500 patients and is able to spend 30 minutes - 1 hour getting to the root of your medical problems. An attentive doctor, who is available and affordable - this is what makes DPC a viable solution to our health care problems. 

- Paul Thomas, MD

Plum Health Direct Primary Care for Employers

Direct Primary Care is an exciting alternative to the traditional fee-for-service model. This is true for individuals, but especially true for small, medium, and large businesses. 

To the employers and HR personnel of the world, Plum Health can provide comprehensive family medicine services to your employees for a low monthly cost. Imagine having a doctor that your employees can call, text, or email at anytime. Your employees can also visit our doctor anytime without a copay.

We believe that this increased responsiveness and availability can reduce down-stream costs. We also believe that your employees will be more proactive about their health when they don't have to pay a co-pay. For example, we treat simple bladder infections in the office before they become pyelonephritis in the ER, coughs and colds before they become pneumonia.

There are several benefits to enrolling in a Direct Primary Care plan. Here are three of the big ones for employers:

1.) Decreased Absenteeism

By offering efficient and convenient care, we can reduce employee absenteeism. Because there is very little wait time to see the Doctor, simple ailments are caught before they become bigger problems.

2.) Reduced Medical Expenses

Every time that we prevent a visit to the Urgent Care or the Emergency Department, we save you hundreds and thousands of dollars. To optimize your value, we recommend pairing our services with a high-deductible, low-premium insurance plan.

3.) Attracting and Retaining Talent

By offering a health care plan that is a meaningful benefit to your employees, you can leverage recruitment. We know the high quality care that we are capable of delivering, and your employees will appreciate these services. 

To find out more, call us at 313.444.5630.

- Paul Thomas, MD

The Doctor-Patient Relationship

Taking care of our members, our patients, our customers is at the heart of our business. When we think about our logo and when we think about a Plum, we think of two overlapping circles. At Plum Health DPC, there is more overlap for our patients and our doctors than in the typical or traditional model of care. 

This greater overlap is intentional. We build deep relationships with our patients, which helps us identify and treat the root cause of an illness or ailment. Our relationship helps us maximize engagement, patient experience and satisfaction. 

Pictured is an alternative logo for Plum Health DPC, one that we considered carefully because it exemplifies that principle of greater overlap between doctor and patient. 

- Paul Thomas, MD

So, Why Plum?

When people talk with us, they often ask: "So, why Plum?"

For us, a Plum is healthy. It fits in your hand. It's purple. It's simple. It's two overlapping circles.

A Plum is a healthy food, and at Plum Health DPC we know that taking better care of yourself begins with what we eat and how we move. The choice of a Plum is inspired by bike rides to Eastern Market, and finding those healthy foods. At Plum Health, we can direct you to healthy resources throughout Detroit and Metro Detroit.  

A Plum is simple, it fits in your hand, and you can take it with you. At Plum Health DPC, we have set out to simplify health care for our members. We aim to eliminate the frustrations in the fee-for-service system like waiting too long to see your doctor, confusing billing, and co-pays.

You can also take our services with you. Say you're traveling and something comes up, we can help to guide you through whatever problems you face. Maybe it's talking you through a head cold, reviewing a management plan, or sending a medication that you forgot at home to the pharmacy nearest you. 

A Plum is purple. At Plum Health DPC, we proudly serve and welcome people of all backgrounds. All ages, stages, races, ethnicities, and orientations are welcome. Additionally, our price points for individuals are less than a typical cell phone bill. Our price points for families are less than a typical cable bill. This allows us to serve people of all income levels. 

Finally, a Plum can be drawn with two overlapping circles. To us, this symbolizes the doctor - patient relationship. At Plum Health, there is more overlap in the relationship between doctor and patient. We believe that having a closer relationship with your doctor can allow you to live a healthier and happier life.  

- Paul Thomas, MD

Plum Health DPC, challenging the status quo for healthcare in Detroit

The status quo in Primary Care is not good enough. We shouldn't have to take a half day off of work to see our doctor for ten minutes. We shouldn't be confused by billing. It shouldn't be so hard to get an appointment or talk with our doctor. 

At Plum Health DPC, we believe in challenging that status quo. We believe that you shouldn't have to wait for your doctor, but that your doctor should wait on you. We believe that you should be able to text or call your doctor anytime. We believe in clear and consistent pricing.  

We think differently about healthcare and its delivery because we want happy members with easy access to our services. We deliver a healthcare product that is affordable, easy to use, and well designed. 

Start your journey to better health with Plum Health. Direct. Primary. Care.

- Paul Thomas, MD