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$100, with patients receiving unlimited provider access, extended appointments, diagnostic and procedural benefits, and more. Members value the convenience, intimacy and cost-effectiveness of DPC, according to Dr. Umbehr, who says being a DPC physician benefits his physical and mental health by reducing or eliminating many of the factors that contribute to physician burnout. Dr. Umbehr believes it is incumbent upon phy sici a n s t o u se i n nov at ive methods, such as DPC, to rein in health- care costs. "Physicians can take responsibility for the problems of high-cost health care, but we can also be responsible for the solution," Dr. Umbehr says. "Insurance and government can't fix it unless we show them a better way." THE SECOND-GENERATION INNOVATOR M . Ch a d Wi l l i a m son , M D, CEO of A laba ma-ba sed DeK a lb M D, is one of 800 physicians that Dr. Umbehr and Atlas MD have helped transition to DPC. Like Dr. Umbehr, Dr. Williamson realized early that he wanted to practice medicine free of the administrative, cost and sched- uling limitations of the fee-for-service model. Extensive research and a visit to Atlas MD convinced Dr. Williamson to get into DPC. He started his practice — the first of its kind in Alabama — right after residency, in 2016. "What most drew me to DPC is that it brings back transparency in medicine," Dr. Williamson says. "We lost the true cost of medicine, to the point that people wouldn't take care of basic things because of the unknown cost. At DeKalb MD, we love telling patients, 'This is what a service costs, these are your options and I'm an advocate for you.'" DeKa lb MD features si x clinics in Alabama, and two each in Tennessee and Georgia. Its approximately 3,200 members pay a $60 monthly fee for primary care, urgent care, medication dispensing, lab tests, access to a fitness center and more. "Patients can call or text us, wait less than five minutes for a scheduled appoint- ment and then spend more than an hour with their provider," Dr. Williamson says. "It's better customer service, which has been lacking in health care for so long. I think DPC makes me a better physician." n What's in a Name? UNLIK E DIRECT PRIM A RY care (DPC) practices, concierge care practices typically charge higher membership fees and accept and bill insur- ance, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. In other ways, however, the differences between these two care models are largely semantic, according to two DPC physicians. Family medicine physician Josh Umbehr, MD, says the DPC practice he cofounded, Atlas MD, has always embraced the label "concierge family medicine" as a sign that the practice provides personalized, high-value care that is also affordable. M. Chad Williamson, MD, CEO of DeKalb MD, disputes the notion that DPC patients have to pay concierge- like fees for comparable service. "We do practically everything a concierge care practice would do for a tenth of the cost," Dr. Williamson says. "We have a wide range of patients, from millionaires to churches that pay fees for some of their members." M D N E W S . C O M /// M D N E W S C E N T R A l P E N N S y lvA N I A ■ 2 0 21 1 5