Frequently asked questions
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Direct Primary Care (DPC) is an innovative alternative payment model that improves access to high functioning healthcare with simple, affordable membership fees. Clinics like Integrative DPC are able to provide you excellent, personalized primary care services for an affordable monthly rate. DPC practices are known for offering an enduring and trusting relationship between a patient and his or her primary care practitioner.
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At Integrative DPC, our practitioner limits the patient panel to 600 versus a traditional setting with 2500 patients, so she can give you the time and attention you deserve.
With our membership, you get comprehensive, personalized care whether it is in our office, on the computer or phone, at your office, or on the job site. Your Integrative DPC Nurse Practitioner is your long-term partner in health.
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No. Direct primary care practices generally do not bill health insurance or other third-party payers, and instead rely on members’ fees for their revenue. Concierge medical practices collect monthly fees from their members but also bill the members’ health plans or collect additional fees at the time of service. And the monthly or annual fees to be part of a concierge medical practice tend to be much higher than direct primary care fees.
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With a membership to Integrative DPC, you will not have a co-pay for any office visits or routine physicals. Furthermore, you will be able to avoid many visits altogether by sending your questions directly to us via email and text. Because you are getting this personalized care from us, you can re-think and adjust your insurance premiums. Most DPC patients find a high-deductible, lower premium insurance plan so they are covered in the case of a major health issue. With out-of-pocket deductibles close to or over $5,000, it doesn’t take much more than a trip or two to Urgent Care or the ER for the cost of Integrative DPC to be well worth the low monthly fee.
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We have a strict policy against prescribing Schedule II controlled substances on an ongoing basis. This includes medications such as Adderall, Ambien, Xanax, Oxycodone, and Oxycontin, and others. Chronic Pain conditions must be managed by a pain specialist. Opioid Prescribing Guidelines have been released by the CDC to combat the prescription drug abuse epidemic, and those patients who use narcotics for chronic pain are encouraged to seek a pain treatment center. Integrative DPC will refer you to a specialist when you need care beyond the scope of our services. We will work with you to select the specialist you feel is right for you.
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We are proud to give our patients the very best in prices for labs and imaging. We use LabCorp and get labs done at their wholesale cost and pass those savings on to our patients. For example a lipid panel through our office costs $2.50. The same applies to imaging. We use centers around Naples and surrounding areas that provide the best cash prices and also accept insurance.
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Yes, for certain conditions your provider can see you via Telehealth if this is preferred. The Integrative DPC platform is secure and HIPAA compliant (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) to ensure that the communication with your nurse practitioner remains a private matter between the two of you. We take every measure to ensure your privacy and the safety of your data and within our clinic that we actually pay for a HIPPA compliant service to ensure we will never be out of compliance.
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Yes. You can cancel your membership with 30 days notice. We believe that building long term relationships with our members is the key to what we do. Therefore, please note that requests to restart memberships are subject to approval and availability. If accepted, a re-enrollment fee of $200 will apply.
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The law currently allows the use of HSA money to pay for medications, imaging tests, labs, etc. However, it is legally unclear if HSA funds can be used to pay for DPC membership fees. This is a question for your tax professional. Legislation has been proposed to clear up the question regarding if HSA money can be spent on a DPC clinic’s retainer or membership fee.
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Illness and injuries don’t always happen during office hours. All members receive an invitation to download our secure messaging app which provides phone and secure text and video communication with your care team. If you need to get in touch with us to order a medication refill or schedule an appointment, you can directly contact our providers anytime, or leave us a voice mail or even a text message.
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It is very important to carry some type of insurance for life’s unforeseen medical emergencies. High Deductible plans (also known as catastrophic coverage) make an excellent accompaniment to Integrative Direct Primary Care as do cost sharing ministries. In addition to traditional insurance, there are faith based and non-faith based, voluntary, healthcare cost-sharing ministries that are acceptable options to meet the individual mandate for health cost coverage in the Affordable Care Act.
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