Action medicine is a direct primary care practice. This is not concierge medicine. For a relatively small monthly fee we can be your primary care doctor. This is a direct relationship between the patient and the physician. We do not bill insurance and there is no copayment. We have same day and next day visits. You can contact us by text messaging, email or telephone whenever you like.This is taking medical care back to the way it should be. Please read the first hand accounts of our patient care below.
Patient vignettes:
A 90-year-old patient of mine brings in her 67-year-old son who has not seen the primary care doctor in over 20 years. He states that his mother convinced him to come in and meet me. In our practice the first visit is complementary so we sat and talked for more than 30 minutes about what he was looking for in his medical care. He decided to sign up for the practice and the following week we got him in for his first physical in more than 20 years. He had seen specialists on and off for various minor things. When he came in we sat down and I took a complete history. I do this on paper and fill in the blanks that may have been left from the online history form. I don’t like to be typing on a computer while I’m taking a history. I just jot down notes, including a to do list. Next, before I have him get undressed we discussed the pros and cons of prostate exam based on current guidelines and recommendations. We collaborated, allowing him to make an informed decision about his care. Afterwards, I did a complete head to toe physical exam, baseline EKG and went over all the lab work we took on the previous week. Everything looked great. I left and let him get dressed. When I came back, we discussed a few of his health concerns and reviewed lifestyle choices, exercise, yoga and meditation. After reviewing everything he stood to leave and turned to me saying that this is the first time any doctor actually listened to him. We shook hands and agreed to have him return in six months.
Patient bit by dog:
A patient has two dogs that apparently don’t get along. One day he got between them to break up a fight. One of them got a hold of his lower leg and tore a semi circle of his calf, 4 inches long down to the muscle. This happened in the evening and he came to see me early the next day. We allow an hour for each visit so we had plenty of time to see him and suture him up. It was a complicated wound but having spent four years in Arkansas sewing up chainsaw lacerations, I was more than qualified. Our procedure room is professionally equipped for such emergencies. It took about 30 minutes to numb him up, clean him, and sew him up. We just saved him and his insurance company thousands of dollars in emergency room fees and co-payments. Hospital care is expensive care.
Whoops, oil burn:
A patient walked into my office with her hand wrapped in cotton. She stated that last night she was cooking with hot oil and the handle of the pan fell off and the oil spilled all over her hand. I removed the cloth to observe deep second-degree burns with multiple blisters involving the full upper layer of her skin. I proceeded to cover the entire hand in burn cream which caused immediate pain reduction. I bandaged her up and gave her a tetanus shot. Since this was a Friday I gave her a prescription for the cream with instructions for her sister to change the bandage daily and reapply the cream. I saw her back three days later and re-dressed her. The following day I was able to remove some of the dead skin. Just to be on the safe side we sent her to a plastic surgeon who saw her the next day. They said everything looked great and to keep doing what she was doing as the hand was healing nicely. If she had gone to the emergency room the cost would have been thousands of dollars, including calling in a plastic surgeon immediately and having repeated high cost follow-ups with the plastic surgeon. She got our care included in the cost of her $60 a month membership.
Do we have your attention yet? Direct primary care is patient centered care. Yes, there is a monthly fee,but when compared to the amount you save by avoiding the specialists and hospitals, it is money well spent and at a fraction of the cost. The first visit is free so you’ve got nothing to lose. Feel free to contact us and make an appointment today!
-Dr. Mike
