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Vitals and Voices EP 43
In the forty-third episode of Vitals and Voices, we sit down with Dr. Monthie, a board-certified family physician and the founder of Heirloom Family Medicine, a direct primary care practice in Albany, New York that opened in September 2025. Beyond her white coat, Dr. Monthie is a wife, mom of two boys, daughter of South Korean immigrants, endurance sports enthusiast, and proud Swiftie — identities that shape how she shows up both in medicine and in life.
After completing her undergraduate studies at Siena College and earning her medical degree and family medicine residency at Albany Medical College, Dr. Monthie began her career in a traditional insurance-based outpatient clinic. While she loved caring for her patients, she quickly became discouraged by a system that prioritized volume over relationships — demanding more patients, less time, and fewer resources. Determined to practice medicine with greater presence and connection, she took a leap into entrepreneurship and launched her own direct primary care (DPC) practice.
Direct primary care is a membership-based model that operates outside the traditional insurance system, allowing physicians to offer longer appointments, same or next-day access, direct communication, and transparent pricing. Dr. Monthie is deeply passionate about DPC because she believes it restores the heart of family medicine — real relationships, accessibility, and affordability. She speaks openly about misconceptions surrounding cash-pay medicine and advocates for its ability to serve uninsured, underinsured, and even traditionally insured patients who are frustrated with rushed, impersonal care.
Motivated by her patients, her family, and her faith, Dr. Monthie continues to build a model of care that prioritizes dignity, transparency, and trust. One accomplishment she is especially proud of is providing high-quality, affordable care to small business owners and uninsured individuals in her community. Through negotiated self-pay rates for labs, imaging, and specialist referrals, she has helped patients access comprehensive care without the financial barriers often associated with traditional insurance systems.
Dr. Monthie’s story is one of courage, conviction, and reimagining what primary care can look like — proof that when physicians step outside the system, they can build something deeply personal, impactful, and rooted in genuine human connection.
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By V and V TeamIn the forty-third episode of Vitals and Voices, we sit down with Dr. Monthie, a board-certified family physician and the founder of Heirloom Family Medicine, a direct primary care practice in Albany, New York that opened in September 2025. Beyond her white coat, Dr. Monthie is a wife, mom of two boys, daughter of South Korean immigrants, endurance sports enthusiast, and proud Swiftie — identities that shape how she shows up both in medicine and in life.
After completing her undergraduate studies at Siena College and earning her medical degree and family medicine residency at Albany Medical College, Dr. Monthie began her career in a traditional insurance-based outpatient clinic. While she loved caring for her patients, she quickly became discouraged by a system that prioritized volume over relationships — demanding more patients, less time, and fewer resources. Determined to practice medicine with greater presence and connection, she took a leap into entrepreneurship and launched her own direct primary care (DPC) practice.
Direct primary care is a membership-based model that operates outside the traditional insurance system, allowing physicians to offer longer appointments, same or next-day access, direct communication, and transparent pricing. Dr. Monthie is deeply passionate about DPC because she believes it restores the heart of family medicine — real relationships, accessibility, and affordability. She speaks openly about misconceptions surrounding cash-pay medicine and advocates for its ability to serve uninsured, underinsured, and even traditionally insured patients who are frustrated with rushed, impersonal care.
Motivated by her patients, her family, and her faith, Dr. Monthie continues to build a model of care that prioritizes dignity, transparency, and trust. One accomplishment she is especially proud of is providing high-quality, affordable care to small business owners and uninsured individuals in her community. Through negotiated self-pay rates for labs, imaging, and specialist referrals, she has helped patients access comprehensive care without the financial barriers often associated with traditional insurance systems.
Dr. Monthie’s story is one of courage, conviction, and reimagining what primary care can look like — proof that when physicians step outside the system, they can build something deeply personal, impactful, and rooted in genuine human connection.