DPC Life: Direct Primary Care Podcast

In this episode, allergist Dr. Anita Sivam shares how she left a large group practice in suburban Indianapolis to build Inspire Allergy & Asthma, a direct specialty care clinic focused on access, transparency, and food oral immunotherapy (OIT).

We talk through her 6–month transition out of insurance based care, how she’s marketing a niche service like food OIT, and the simple systems she is using for social media, referrals, and local events so she is not dependent on hospital networks to grow.

Who This Is For

• Physicians exploring direct primary or direct specialty care

• Doctors stuck in insurance driven allergy or specialty practices

• Anyone launching or marketing a new DPC or specialty practice

  
  

What You’ll Learn

• How Dr. Sivam planned her exit and launch timeline

• How to position a niche service like food oral immunotherapy

• Why clear, simple messaging beats complicated marketing

• How to use mom groups, local events, and DPC referrals to fill your schedule

• How longer visits and direct access change patient trust and outcomes

  
  

If you are starting or growing a DPC or direct specialty practice and you know you “should be posting” but you never stick with it, use this episode as your sign to build a real content system.

Still not posting? Build a system that runs your content for you.

Join the DPC Social Media Sprint 👇https://reach.harmonyopshealth.com

🔗 Links & Resources

Website: https://www.inspireallergyandasthma.com/ 

Social Media: @Inspire Allergy and Asthma (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok) 

Email: [email protected]

Thinking about DPC and quietly wondering: What does life actually look like on the other side?

In this live Q&A replay, we answer one of the most honest questions physicians have about DPC: how do you balance ownership, freedom, and boundaries when it is your name on the door. We talk about what it really feels like to carry the practice in your mind, without being on call 24/7.

We also keep coming back to one theme: community. How to lean on other DPC docs for coverage, build local relationships, and remind yourself you’re not crazy and you’re not alone.

Who this is for

• Physicians who want unfiltered answers about life in DPC

• Doctors overwhelmed by the “what ifs” of running their own practice

• Early DPC owners navigating boundaries, growth, and expectations

  
  

What you’ll learn

• How to set clear boundaries in your DPC (and why they protect both you and your patients)

• The shift from “always available” to sustainable, high-quality care

• Simple ways to structure your schedule from day one

• Why hearing “no” is normal in business and how to reframe it

• How to handle family and friends asking for medical advice

• How to set expectations early with patients so you don’t resent your own practice

• What “normal” growth looks like in the first year or two

• Why community and collaboration are non‑negotiable in DPC

  
  

These are the conversations most physicians never get to have. You’ll walk away realizing what you’re feeling is normal, and that there’s a healthier way to build this.

Ready to stop avoiding social media?

The Harmony Ops Social Media Sprint gets you started. $99. https://reach.harmonyopshealth.com/sprint-home-page

We walk through Dr. Rebecca Berens’ journey of building a DPC practice while navigating motherhood, uncertainty, and the unexpected challenges of opening in 2020. Instead of forcing growth, she leaned into her season of life and allowed her practice to evolve naturally through relationships and aligned care. Over time, her patient base shifted through trust and referrals rather than traditional marketing. This episode is a reminder that sustainable growth in DPC comes from community, mindset shifts, and letting go of the need to do everything alone. 

What You’ll Learn

• Why your DPC timeline doesn’t need to match anyone else’s 

• How to grow your practice through referrals and community 

• A non-salesy approach to marketing as a physician 

• Why you shouldn’t try to do everything alone in DPC 

• Key mindset shifts around money, growth, and sustainability 

  
  

Key Moments from the Episode

• Opening a DPC practice right before the pandemic 

• Feeling “behind” and learning to reframe success 

• Building a niche through aligned patient care 

• Using community groups to serve instead of sell 

• Transitioning to a referral-driven practice 

  
  

Who Is This For?

This is for physicians who feel behind, overwhelmed, or unsure if they’re doing DPC “right.” It’s also for those who want a more sustainable, community-driven way to grow their practice without burning out.

About the Guest

Dr. Rebecca Berens is a family medicine physician and the founder of Vida Family Medicine in Sugar Land, Texas. She has been practicing DPC for over six years and has built a referral-based practice focused where she helps break down health misinformation in a thoughtful and nuanced way.

on patients recovering from disordered eating. She is also the co-host of The Anti-Social Doctors Podcast.

Book Mentioned

• She Sells by Megan Dalla-Camina

• Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell

• Influence by Robert Cialdini

• 10x Is Easier Than 2x by Dan Sullivan & Benjamin Hardy

  
  

  Podcasts Mentioned

• The Anti-Social Doctors PodcastFollow Dr. Rebecca on Instagram: @rebeccaberensmd

• EntreMD Podcast by Dr. Una

  
  

This episode covers how to find patients through Facebook group referrals and how to market authentically as an introvert. But knowing where to find patients is only half the equation.

The other half is knowing exactly what to say when you find them, and being clear enough about your practice identity that your message actually lands.

If you're preparing to open your DPC practice and want to build that clarity before you start marketing, DPC Foundations was built for exactly that moment.

The taller the building the deeper the foundation has to go. Foundations does that deep work first: your practice identity, your messaging, your clarity. This is what you need first.

Founding member price: $499 -  goes to $799 at launch in 2 weeks.

👉 Save your spot at dpcfoundations.com

If you feel like you spend more time checking boxes than caring for the human in front of you, this conversation will hit home.In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Marissa Fusella, a family medicine physician in Latham, New York, who’s in the early days of launching her Direct Primary Care practice, Fusella Family Medicine. After eight years in employed medicine, she felt the growing tension between loving her patients and feeling trapped in a system that doesn’t.

We talk candidly about what it’s like to leave a “stable” job, start a DPC with just one enrolled patient, and keep going when growth is slower than the Instagram highlight reels. Marissa shares how community, courage, and lots of imperfect action are shaping her path back to patient-centered care.

Who This Is For

• Physicians buried in paperwork who want to practice real, relational medicine again

• DPC‑curious doctors who want the unfiltered version of what the early months look like

• New DPC owners who need reassurance that slow, steady growth is normal

  
  

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• Why you should start before you feel fully ready

• How “done is better than perfect” looks in a real DPC launch

• Why community may be the most important growth strategy you have

• How simple meet‑and‑greets can educate a community and attract the right patients

• Why building slowly does not mean you’re building wrong

  
  

If this episode encourages you, share it with a physician who might be quietly questioning their current path. It might be the permission they need to take their next step.

Channel Resources

🌐 Website: https://fusellafamilymedicine.com

📘 Facebook: Fusella Family Medicine

📸 Instagram: Fusella Family Medicine

And if you're exploring your own DPC launch, don’t forget to check out the Breakeven Calculator for New DPC Practices to help you gain clarity and confidence around your numbers before you leap.

Breakeven Calculator for New DPC Practices: https://harmonyopshealth.com/launch

In this episode, I share the 10 fears I hear over and over from physicians who are thinking about Direct Primary Care but feel unsure about leaving employed medicine. We talk about realistic patient follow‑through, contracts, finances, timing, and how to know if you’re actually ready to move.

You’ll see that you’re not alone, you’re not the only one thinking about this, and there is a clear path forward.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What usually happens when you leave an employed practice (and what % of patients typically follow)

• How to explain a monthly membership fee to insured patients without feeling salesy

• When to start telling patients and colleagues you’re leaving, and how non‑compete / non‑solicit clauses affect that

• How to think about runway, side gigs, and the financial risk of leaving too early vs too late

• Simple ways to start talking about DPC so meet‑and‑greets feel less awkward

• How to build interest and a waitlist before you open, instead of launching to an empty panel

• The mindset and family / financial questions to ask when deciding if you’re ready to leave employed medicine

• Why you’re absolutely not the only one considering DPC, and how many practices are already thriving

• The Practice Momentum Flywheel: reach → resonate → respond → retain, and how that builds your practice over time

  
  

About the Independent Practice Path

Many physicians don’t need more information about DPC. They need a clear path and a small group to walk it with them.

The Independent Practice Path is an 8‑week small‑cohort program for physicians who want to move from “thinking about it” to actively preparing to open an independent direct care practice.

Over eight weeks, you will:

• Clarify your practice model so you know exactly what you’re building

• Practice how to talk about DPC and your membership in a way that feels natural

• Begin building interest and a waitlist before you open

• Put the basic systems in place that support your future practice

  
  

How to take the next step

1. Start the Readiness Reflection. Complete the short Readiness Reflection on the Independent Practice Path website to see where you are in the process and what your next step should be.

   Link: https://ipp.harmonyopshealth.com/

2. Join the next cohort. The next Independent Practice Path cohort starts on March 24. Enrollment closes once we begin, so if you want to be part of this round, complete the Readiness Reflection and register as soon as you’re ready.

3. Ask your questions. If you’re unsure if this is a fit, complete the Readiness Reflection and then email me using the address listed on that page.

   
   

Your future patients need you practicing medicine the way you imagined when you wrote your personal statement. If you’ve been thinking about DPC for a long time, this is your invitation to start taking concrete steps toward your own independent practice.
Email me at ⁠[email protected]⁠ and let’s figure out if IPP is the right fit for you. 

What if growth didn’t have to cost you your emotional bandwidth?

In this episode of the DPC Life Podcast, I’m joined by Dr. Noemi Adame, a pediatric Direct Primary Care physician in rural Indiana who has deliberately built systems to protect her time, energy, and longevity.

After years in employed and academic medicine, she chose DPC for more autonomy, but then realized that “freedom” without systems still felt overwhelming.

We get into gender bias, invisible labor, pricing discomfort, and how automation became the unexpected tool that transformed her practice.

What You’ll Learn

• Why female physicians often carry more invisible labor and how that accelerates burnout

• How automation can act as a boundary, not a barrier

• The specific systems that cut inquiries by 80% while increasing enrollment

• How to use pre-education marketing to filter and qualify leads

• Why self-scheduling slashes back-and-forth messaging and mental load

  
  

Key Moments

• The data showing female physicians receive 25% more portal messages

• The realization that the problem wasn’t time, it was emotional bandwidth

• The shift from answering every call manually to automated meet-and-greet funnels

• Panel growth up 20% while message volume stayed flat

• 80% fewer inquiries but 30% higher enrollment

• An honest conversation about pricing discomfort and guilt

  
  

About the Guest

Dr. Noemi Adame is a pediatric Direct Primary Care physician in rural Indiana. She founded her DPC practice after years in academic and employed medicine to create a more sustainable, relationship-centered way to care for families.

She is also the founder of DPC Women’s Café and host of an annual DPC Women’s Retreat, where she focuses on physician wellbeing, autonomy, and burnout-proofing practices through intentional systems and community.

Resources & Links

• DPC Women’s Café – Weekly virtual gathering for female DPC physicians (hosted by Dr. Noemi Adame)

• DPC Women’s Retreat – Culver, Indiana | October 15–18 | CME included. Physician wellbeing and burnout-proofing.

• SigmaMD – EMR platform mentioned in this episode: https://www.sigmamd.com

• Harmony Ops – CRM platform referenced: hhttps://24-7-bot.harmonyopsfordpc.com/dpc

Ready to See How DPC Really Stacks Up for Your Patients?

I created a DPC Patient Savings Calculator that lets patients compare what they might spend on DPC + a health share versus traditional insurance, using their own numbers. 

When you click the link in the show notes, you’ll get:

1. Calculator options for PhysiciansYou’ll see a free, generic calculator you can share with patients right away.

2. You’ll also see how to:

• Get a branded version of the calculator for your own practice

• Have it hosted for you with lead capture built in

• Plug it into my DPC‑specific CRM and nurture sequence, so every calculation becomes a tracked lead

  
  

The calculator is one of the tools inside my Independent Practice Path + CRM system, built so you can open or grow your practice with patients already lined up, not just hoping inquiries trickle in.

Click here: https://dpcsavings.com/calculator-physicians

Curious about the Independent Practice Path? Email me at [email protected] and let’s figure out if IPP is the right fit for you.

Start with the free generic version. The rest of the system is waiting quietly inside.

This episode of the DPC Life Podcast is streaming now on Spotify and all major platforms. Let’s build practices that protect us, not consume us.

Coaching a brand-new DPC micropractice in Hawaii through pricing pushback, ‘concierge’ confusion, and early-growth doubt.

When a patient asks, “Do you take my insurance?” most DPC‑curious docs freeze. In this episode, we coach Dr. Donna Mayeda, founder of Ke Ola Noa DPC in Honolulu, through exactly what to say, without feeling salesy or defensive.

Just five months into her micropractice, Dr. Mayeda is building Direct Primary Care in a state where almost no one’s heard of it. We dig into:

• How to explain DPC vs “concierge” in one or two calm sentences

• What to say when patients don’t see the value in a membership fee

• Why lowering your price won’t fix a value disconnect

• Mindset shifts to talk about money without feeling like a salesperson

• How to craft a simple elevator pitch (even as an introvert)

If you’ve ever felt called to DPC, but you’re scared of slow growth, confused patients, or awkward money talks, this coaching session will make you feel less alone and more prepared.

About Dr. Donna Mayeda

Dr. Donna Mayeda is an internal medicine physician and founder of Ke Ola Noa DPC in Honolulu, Hawaii. After six years in an employed corporate setting, she chose to open a Direct Primary Care micropractice focused on autonomy, accessibility, and relationship-based care. She is one of only a handful of DPC physicians in the state and is actively building a supportive network for DPC and DPC-curious physicians across Hawaii.

Website: keolanoa.com

Instagram & Facebook: Ke Ola Noa DPC

If this conversation resonated with you, share it with a physician who’s been “DPC curious.”

And if you’re thinking about starting your own DPC practice, don’t do it alone.

👉 Want step‑by‑step support?

Email me at [email protected] to see if the Independent Practice Path is right for you.

Thinking about leaving employed medicine for independent practice?

At the recent DPC Women Connect workshop, I kept hearing the same concern - not how to open a practice, but how to safely make the transition and what happens in the months before and after.

In this short bonus episode I explain the Independent Practice Path (IPP), a small cohort designed to help physicians plan the move intentionally, begin talking with patients early, and have systems ready before opening their doors.

If you’re somewhere between “I’ve been thinking about it” and “I don’t know what my next step is,” you can email me directly:

[email protected]

I personally read and respond. Tell me where you are in the process and what timeline you’re considering and we can figure out if IPP is a good fit for you.

DPC can look freeing from the outside, but few people talk about the uncertainty that comes with DPC. In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Cindy Ojevwe, a family medicine physician and owner of Dr. Cindy Care in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. We talked about her burnout in employed medicine and why she built her own Direct Primary Care practice. She shared the realities of starting solo, the unexpected challenges of growth, and the mindset shifts required when every decision - clinical and business - becomes your own. This conversation reflects on what it really takes to build a practice that aligns with our values while learning to give ourselves time and grace in the process.

This episode is for:

• Physicians considering leaving employed medicine or transitioning into DPC

• Solo practice owners navigating early growth and uncertainty

• Women in DPC who feel isolated in decision-making or leadership

  
  

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Growth in DPC takes time - patience matters.

• Community and mentorship reduce isolation.

• Financial support during early growth lowers pressure.

• Boundaries are necessary for long-term sustainability.

• Practice models can evolve as community needs change.

Building a solo practice takes courage, patience, and a willingness to grow through uncertainty. The freedom DPC offers comes not from doing everything alone, but from building systems and a community that support you along the way. Give your practice - and yourself - the time and grace to grow into the vision you started with.

Resources & Guest Information

• Website: www.drcindycare.com

• Instagram: @drcindycare

• Facebook: Dr. Cindy Care LLC

• Podcast: The Care Room with Dr. Cindy

• YouTube: youtube.com/@drcindycare

You can’t grow a DPC practice, be a great physician, and still show up fully at home if everything stays on your plate. At some point, something breaks, or you decide to build it differently.

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Erik Petersen, founder of First Call DPC in Panama City Beach, Florida, to unpack what an automated DPC practice actually looks like. Erik shares how his background in emergency medicine pushed him toward Direct Primary Care as the answer to poor access, fragmented care, and constant burnout.

We talk about starting lean, layering in virtual and in-person care, and using automation to clear out the “noise” so he can stay focused on patients, not paperwork. You’ll hear what worked, what didn’t, and how he’s building a model that protects both patient access and physician sustainability.

If you’ve been wondering, “Is there actually a sane way to grow DPC?” this conversation gives you a real-world example.

This episode is for you if you’re:

• A physician exploring or transitioning into Direct Primary Care

• A DPC owner who wants to grow without adding complexity or staff bloat

• A doctor who wants better patient access without sacrificing evenings, weekends, or family

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why it’s safer to start small and let growth follow patient demand

• How access and relationships become your top retention strategy

• Specific ways automation can remove noise and protect your focus

• How virtual + in-person can work together inside one DPC model

• Why optimizing care goes beyond prescriptions and quick visits

  
  

Conversations like this are a good reminder: building a DPC practice isn’t about doing more, it’s about doing the right things on purpose. Growth looks different for everyone, but clarity comes from knowing your numbers, learning, adapting, and staying connected to the mission of better care.

One of the biggest questions I hear from physicians is:“What’s my actual breakeven point if I start a DPC?”

In this episode, I share a simple app I built that helps you calculate that breakeven point in a few minutes so you can see, on paper, what you really need for your practice to work.

Guest Links & Resources

• First Call DPC – Panama City Beach, Florida

• Vacation Medicine – virtual urgent care service

• First Call DPC Skool Community – upcoming education and resources for DPC physicians

• Breakeven Calculator for New DPC Practices – https://dpc-health-check.lovable.app

  
  

The in-person DPC Women Connect event is almost full — we still have a spot open. If you’ve been thinking about coming, this might be your moment.

If you’re in that season of “something has to change” and you want help thinking through your own numbers and model, start with the Breakeven app. It gives you a clear, objective starting point — so you’re not building your next step on guesses.