Background Note on Direct Primary Care

This background note explores an emerging and innovative model of primary care: Direct Primary Care (DPC). Given that quality primary care delivery is often thwarted by complications, including payment schemes, coordination, and coding, DPC was developed as a strategy to circumvent the barriers experienced under traditional fee-for-service medicine. The note explores how this subscription based model operates outside the insurance system, as well as variations within the model, and the associated regulatory and legal challenges involved.