Healthcare should be personal, accessible, and easy to understand.
Direct Primary Care (DPC) gives you a direct relationship with your primary care team for one predictable monthly membership fee. Instead of navigating copays, rushed appointments, and insurance billing for every routine primary care visit, members receive convenient access to care from a team that knows them and their health history.
Have questions? We’ve organized the most common questions below to help you understand how Direct Primary Care works and what membership at Advanced Primary Care can offer.
Modern Medicine, The Old-Fashioned Way.
Direct Primary Care, often called DPC, is a membership-based healthcare model that gives patients direct access to their primary care team for one simple, predictable monthly fee.
Instead of billing insurance for routine primary care visits, DPC focuses on the relationship between you and your provider. This allows for better communication, greater convenience, more personalized care, and fewer barriers between you and your healthcare team.
Think of your membership much like other monthly services you use: you pay a predictable membership fee and have access to your included primary care benefits when you need them.
Members pay a monthly membership fee for access to primary care services included with their membership.
Rather than paying a copay each time you need an included primary care visit, your membership gives you ongoing access to your healthcare team for routine care, preventive care, sick visits, chronic condition management, follow-up care, and healthcare guidance.
The goal is simple: make primary care easier to access, easier to understand, and more personal.
The membership model allows us to focus on caring for patients rather than billing insurance for every routine office visit.
It supports better access, more communication, continuity of care, and a stronger relationship between you and your provider. It also gives you more predictable primary care costs instead of wondering what each routine visit may cost.
No. Direct Primary Care is primary care — not health insurance.
Your DPC membership is designed for many of your everyday primary care needs. It does not replace coverage for major medical expenses such as emergencies, hospitalizations, surgery, specialty treatment, or other complex medical services.
We strongly encourage patients to maintain appropriate health insurance or other major medical coverage for healthcare needs outside the scope of DPC.
DPC is designed to give you better access to primary care and a stronger relationship with your healthcare team.
Membership benefits may include:
At Advanced Primary Care, we often describe it as having your own “Pocket Doc” — a trusted primary care team within reach when you have a question, concern, or healthcare need.
Health insurance and primary care serve different purposes.
Insurance is important protection for major medical expenses, but having insurance does not always mean primary care is easy to access. Patients may still encounter long waits for appointments, short visits, copays, unexpected bills, or difficulty reaching their provider between visits.
DPC complements your insurance by making everyday primary care more accessible, personal, and proactive.
Think of DPC as your front door to healthcare and insurance as protection for the larger medical expenses you may encounter.
DPC can make many routine primary care costs more predictable and transparent.
Included primary care visits do not require a copay each time you are seen, and members may also have access to more affordable pricing on certain laboratory testing, imaging, and medications when available.
There can also be value in having earlier access to care. Addressing a concern sooner, consistently managing chronic conditions, and having a primary care provider help guide your healthcare decisions may help you avoid unnecessary or higher-cost healthcare services.
DPC focuses on routine, preventive, acute, and ongoing primary care.
Your care may include:
Some procedures, laboratory tests, medications, imaging, or services outside routine primary care may involve an additional charge. Whenever possible, we will discuss available options and costs with you.
Yes. Direct Primary Care can be especially valuable for patients managing ongoing conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, thyroid disorders, high cholesterol, asthma, and other chronic health concerns.
Because DPC supports ongoing communication and continuity of care, your provider can work with you to develop a personalized care plan, monitor your progress, review medications and laboratory results, and make adjustments when appropriate.
Absolutely. DPC is not only for people who are sick.
One of the greatest benefits of having a strong primary care relationship is prevention. Your healthcare team can help you stay current with appropriate screenings, monitor risk factors, discuss wellness goals, and identify potential health concerns earlier.
Being healthy is a great reason to establish a relationship with a primary care team — the goal is to help you stay that way.
Advanced Primary Care makes every effort to provide timely access for members, including same-day or next-day appointments when available and medically appropriate.
One of the primary goals of DPC is to make it easier for you to reach your healthcare team when you need care rather than routinely waiting weeks for a primary care appointment.
Depending on your healthcare need, members may connect with our team through:
Not every medical condition can be appropriately evaluated through messaging or Telehealth. Your healthcare team will help determine when an in-person examination or a higher level of care is necessary.
Healthcare concerns do not always happen between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Our membership model provides enhanced access beyond the traditional office visit, including the ability to reach out when a healthcare concern arises. After-hours guidance may be available when medically appropriate.
Direct Primary Care is not an emergency or urgent care service, and availability after normal business hours does not replace emergency medical care.
You can contact your Advanced Primary Care team when you are away from home.
Depending on your medical need, your location, and what can be safely and appropriately managed remotely, our team may be able to provide guidance, Telehealth support, or help direct you to appropriate local services.
We have also expanded our relationships and resources with other DPC providers and nationwide laboratory and imaging services to help provide additional options when appropriate.
Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.
Direct Primary Care provides enhanced access to primary care, but it does not replace emergency medical services.
Symptoms such as severe chest pain, significant difficulty breathing, signs of a stroke, severe bleeding, loss of consciousness, or other potentially life-threatening conditions require immediate emergency evaluation.
Laboratory testing, imaging, medications, procedures, and outside services are not included in the monthly membership and may have an additional cost.
One advantage of the DPC model is our ability to help members explore transparent and affordable options whenever available.
Advanced Primary Care may offer access to:
If additional services are needed, we will help you understand your options whenever possible.
If your healthcare needs go beyond what can appropriately be managed in primary care, your provider can help coordinate a referral to a specialist or other healthcare service.
Your Advanced Primary Care provider remains part of your healthcare team. We can help review specialist recommendations and reports, answer questions, and assist in keeping your overall care connected.
We strongly recommend maintaining appropriate health insurance or other major medical coverage.
DPC can handle many routine primary care needs, while insurance provides financial protection for services outside your membership, such as hospitalization, surgery, emergency care, specialty treatment, and other major medical expenses.
Many patients choose to combine DPC with an insurance plan that provides protection for larger healthcare expenses.
Yes. Joining Advanced Primary Care does not require you to give up your existing health insurance. Your insurance can continue to be used for covered services outside your DPC membership, including hospital care, specialists, imaging, prescriptions, procedures, and other eligible medical services according to your individual plan.
Your Direct Primary Care membership is based on a monthly fee rather than billing health insurance for routine primary care visits included with your membership.
When outside services are needed, you may still choose to use your health insurance when appropriate and accepted by the outside provider.
Beginning January 1, 2026, federal law allows individuals who otherwise qualify for a Health Savings Account to participate in certain qualifying Direct Primary Care arrangements without the DPC arrangement itself making them ineligible to contribute to an HSA.
HSA funds may also be used tax-free to pay qualifying periodic DPC membership fees, subject to applicable federal requirements and limits.
Because individual circumstances and health plans vary, members should confirm their eligibility with their tax, benefits, or HSA advisor.
Yes. DPC can be a valuable option for individuals, couples, and families.
Families often appreciate convenient access to care, predictable primary care costs, more personal visits, and the opportunity to build an ongoing relationship with a healthcare team that understands their health history and needs.
Yes. You can continue seeing your established specialists.
Your DPC provider can remain your primary point of contact and help coordinate care, review reports and recommendations, and help you understand how different pieces of your healthcare fit together.
Yes. Advanced Primary Care partners with employers and organizations that want to provide Direct Primary Care memberships as an employee healthcare benefit.
DPC can help employers provide employees with convenient access to primary care while complementing an existing health benefits strategy.
If you enjoy being an Advanced Primary Care member, tell your employer about us. We would be happy to meet with their leadership or benefits team and explain how DPC may work for their organization.
Direct Primary Care may be a great fit if you value:
The best way to determine whether DPC is right for you is to learn how membership works and decide whether the model fits your healthcare needs and preferences.
Getting started is simple.
Visit our Membership Pricing & Benefits page to review available membership options, complete registration form and enrollment, or contact our office if you have questions before joining.
Our team will be happy to explain how membership works and help you determine whether Advanced Primary Care is the right fit for you or your family.
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