Have you ever wondered what it would be like to design the medical clinic of your dreams? What if you could practice medicine the way you originally envisioned? What if we could simplify...really simplify...the delivery of routine medical care? In this quick, conversational read, family physician, Julie K Gunther, MD, FAAFP explains why she had to leave her job within the healthcare system to do the work she trained to do.In 2014, Dr. Gunther sold her home, her truck, moved her family, learned all about SBA loans, bought a building and opened sparkMD, an independent direct primary care (DPC) practice.Peppered with personal anecdotes, shared leanings, spreadsheets, cautionary tales, resource lists and more, this guide outlines how to start your own direct primary care (DPC) clinic in twenty clear steps.Part memoir, part business tome, this 'how to guide' illustrates how one physician left the system, went out on her own and started taking care of patients in a simplified, back-to-basics health care model.

Being a family doctor isn’t easy. Why? Because you’re either an employed physician or a doctor trying to survive on your own. Both are making doctors quit their profession every day. You have heard about direct primary care as an option, but you have been bombarded with misleading advertising, confusing recommendations, and bad information from those who fear taking the leap. This makes you question yourself every day. Do you really want to become a DPC doctor? If you do, how do you go about doing it? You start by reading The Official Guide to Starting Your Direct Primary Care Practice. In this fact-filled book, you’ll discover how to avoid the common pitfalls, the top tips to market your practice, how to make patient experiences great and much more.

In 2015, my practice partner Dr. Amy Cianciolo and I started down the magical road of direct primary care (DPC) leading away from a frustrating and inadequate healthcare system. The system had devolved into a glorified secretary punching computer buttons all day to satisfy insurance companies, administrators, and government bureaucrats leaving real patient care in its wake. DPC was the magic path out of the frustration and back to helping patients. We found this model of care was the closest thing to achieving the healthcare quadruple aim of lowering costs, improving health, and increasing both patient and physician satisfaction. After a year or so, employers large and small started asking for our high access, low costs direct care. This book is the culmination of years of experience working with employers (small and large), the magic and the mistakes. The book is written from the DPC physician perspective and the DPC physician is the main focus to learn how to approach employers, work with them and their benefits advisors. In addition, there are specific sections for employers and benefits advisors to learn about DPC and how, together, all three groups can work to achieve some magic and miracles. Important Topics include: For DPC clinics, what are the advantages and disadvantages of working with employers? How do DPC physicians connect with employers in their area? How do DPC physicians find DPC knowledgeable benefits advisors in the area? For employers and employees, what are the DPC advantages? How can benefits advisors and employers find and vet DPC physicians? What “reg flags” should everyone look out for regarding DPC clinics, employers and advisors? How do DPC clinics handle pricing and the legal issues when working with employers? How do DPC clinics get large numbers of new employees integrated into their clinic? These are merely the opening act of the Magic, Pixie Dust, and Miracles that await in this guidebook.

By picking up this book, you may be taking your first step in starting your direct primary care practice, or you may be taking the next big leap in growing your direct primary care practice. I know that whoever you are, and whichever stage you're at in your DPC journey, this book will inspire you and demonstrate in concrete methods how you can be even more successful.

Primary care clinicians are performing more varied procedures than ever before, and physicians, residents, and students need a comprehensive, authoritative resource that provides trusted information in an easy-to-follow format. Through three outstanding editions, Pfenninger and Fowler’s Procedures for Primary Care has been the go-to reference for step-by-step strategies for nearly every medical procedure that can be performed in an office, hospital, or emergency care facility by primary care providers. 

Master the techniques for successful physical examinations with the #1 choice for complete, authoritative guidance. This highly regarded text in book-only format includes fully-illustrated, step-by-step techniques that outline the correct performance of the physical examination and an easy-to-follow two-column format.

Evaluate and treat common fractures and know when to refer uncommon ones to a specialist. This quick, practical resource presents detailed illustrations, video, andcurrent best evidence for imaging and treating fractures so you can make accurate identifications and manage patients with confidence.