When I started a cash-only, direct-pay practice nine years ago, my reasons were simple: spend more time with my patients, provide better care, and live a better life.
I was uncomfortable signing insurance contracts that limited my ability to care for my patients. I was unwilling to sign an employment contract that required me to see a patient every 7.5 minutes, or lose a productivity bonus.
Nine years later, my practice Access Health Care in Apex, North Carolina is living proof that primary care physicians can provide better care to more patients more economically while making significantly more income if we start answering to our patients instead of answering to insurance companies or government bureaucrats.
