How to Determine the Viability of DPC In Your Area

Consider working as an employed DPC physician

DPC is at the point where many early practices are looking to grow to multiple physicians. If you're not cut out to run a small business, consider working as an employed physician in a DPC practice near you. You'll still get all the benefits of DPC (small patient panel, less administrative BS, etc) without the headaches of starting your own practice.

Check out DPC Frontier's Careers page or iamdirectcare.com to find job listings from existing DPC clinics. Or reach out directly to the DPC practices in your area (find them with the DPC Frontier mapper).

Check if there are any legal hurdles to DPC practices in your state

This information has been compiled on DPC Frontier here.

Do you have a means of acquiring patients initially?

Are you known in your community? Are you migrating an existing non-DPC practice? Or if you're starting from scratch, can you take some patients with you?

Needless to say, a way this isn't absolutely necessary, but it will makes things easier on you (financially and psychologically).

A note on non-compete clauses: they are difficult to enforce in many states (source) so don't be too intimidated. Check out the appendices of this guide to see your state's statutes on physican non-competes. Also, don't be afraid to simply ask your employer to waive the non-compete clause.

If considering a transition, run the idea by your patients

Direct them to to learn more or use this survey from iwantdirectcare.org as a reference for the conversation.

Are you likeable?

Sounds silly, but this can make or break a practice, especially in DPC. Most DPC practices rely heavily on word-of-mouth evangelism. Any new patient has to be convinced both of the DPC model and of you. So smile 🤗