Direct Primary Care Growing According to DPC Journal Industry Analysis

After conducting nationwide surveys, online polls, and interviews with numerous DPC physicians, The Direct Primary Care Journal uncovered unique aspects about the direct primary care (DPC) industry. The basic defining characteristics of DPC were “low-monthly fees, does not accept insurance, target audience primarily millennials or generation X, and popular among employers.” Another key finding was that less than 20% of DPC doctors practice in ‘group’ setting while nearly 81% operated a ‘solo’ practice. The size of patient panels was reported to be less than 300 according to 60% of DPC physicians and many desired even smaller amounts of patients. According to The DPC Journal, 68% of fees charged by most DPC practices cost on average between $25 and $85 per month. Also, the majority of DPC practice patients earn a combined annual household income of less than $95,000.

DPC practices offer year round open enrollment to new patients thus making growth more sustainable. In addition, DPC Business Models are growing stronger with 90% of practices doing better financially than previous years. Nearly 50% of DPC physicians provide home visits as part of the monthly patient subscriber fee and more than 80% of physicians reported that they operate either a family or internal medicine practice. Based on patient search patterns, investor analysis, and interviews with DPC physicians, DPC growth will occur mostly in metropolitan markets and direct-pay, non-retainer style primary care practices should anticipate a growth rate of roughly 5-9% over the next few years.

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