According to the Direct Primary Care Alliance, “Direct Primary Care (DPC) is an innovative healthcare model where physicians partner with their patients to provide primary care services under a flat, periodic membership fee. By moving outside of the administrative burdens of the traditional insurance-based billing system, DPC practices are able to provide a wide spectrum of care in a transparent, affordable manner. DPC practices—now a grassroots movement numbering over 1000 nationwide—are able to do this while offering patients a higher level of service, communication, and relationship, than what is often found in our dysfunctional healthcare system.”

At Winding Brook Direct Primary Care, PLLC, perhaps the easiest way to explain it is simply to say that we are restoring the patient-physician relationship to where it belongs, as the very foundation of health care by removing third parties (such as insurance companies) from the over-active role they hold now and returning control to the patient and his or her physician.

Think of your medical care like an orchestra. There are many different parts to this orchestra. There are the wind instruments, brass instruments, percussion, string instruments. Think of each one like part of your care team. Your primary care physician, specialists, pharmacists, physical therapists, family support at home, and of course, you. Each part of the team is working hard to make their part “perfect”. However, although they know that the other parts exist, they only have very short periods of time with long intervals between to perfect their part of the music. So, in the time they have, they perfect their part to the best of their ability. Unfortunately, without a conductor and practice together, the music may be disjointed, unsettled, jarring at times.

At Winding Brook, we are the conductors of this orchestra. We cannot do the work of the other sections however, our job is to make sure that the sections work together. At each visit at Winding Brook, because we offer a different model, one where time is not compromised, we will be able to review your medical care in the interval between our visits. We will be able to check on your labs and track down any information that is missing. At your visit, we will take the time to hear you. We will listen to your concerns and thoughts. If we find that we still need consult notes or labs, we will work to get them quickly. We will make sure that YOU know how things are going and answer questions that you have. And when you get home and realize that you still need more information or still have concerns, we will address them. Either by phone or at another visit, as quickly as possible.

This is our committment to you because YOU are what we are all working towards.

This is exactly where we can help you. As we described with fragmented care, another way of thinking about the current health care setting is that the patient is walking on a path of their health. Each specialist is on a specific part of a patient’s path and the patient often feels like they are jumping from one part of the path to the other. As your primary care physician, we will be able to help make sure that you understand each of these paths and how they work together. At Winding Brook, we will be reading the notes from each of your specialists in detail, to understand their plan. If their plan does not seem to match up well enough with another specialists plan, or you are struggling with their plan for whatever reason, we will be able to connect with the specialists to create a coordinated plan that works for you, the patient.

Although “good insurance” may help you afford health care, it cannot help you access health care. You may still have to deal with long wait times, having to see different providers for your visits, and spend too much time on the phone. At Winding Brook Direct Primary Care, you will be able to be seen with 1 to 2 business days, often same day. You will speak with YOUR physician, not with someone you have never met. You will get a call back in a timely fashion. We believe that communication is the key to a good relationship and the foundation of your health care is the patient physician relationship.

Unfortunately, good health insurance does not always equal good health care.

Health insurance does NOT equal health care. Although health insurance is something we encourage everyone to have, it does not always translate into a good primary care experience, for many reasons. By charging a flat monthly fee, which often comes out to be less than many deductibles, Winding Brook Direct Primary Care, can excel in the delivery of primary care by focusing on the relationship with the patient and their needs, rather than focusing on the requirements of the health insurance company. Through unhurried visits, as frequent as necessary, the health of our patients can be optimized and prioritized. There is time for you to discuss your concerns and thoughts. There is time for your physician to review notes and put the pieces together. By allowing another entity, such as insurance, to dictate your care, we begin to look like the current system with excessive patients on a panel and severe time limitations.

The short answer? No. You do not need to have health insurance to be a member. We do encourage everyone to have some form of “health insurance” against those things we cannot manage in the practice such as major illnesses requiring hospitalizations, costly testing, specialist visits, and ER visits, among many other unforeseen sets of circumstances. However, your care at Winding Brook is covered by your monthly membership fee.

Click on the link below or call us! We know this is a new concept for most folks and it will take some time to explain. We will call you back to discuss it further. It is important that you, the patient, feel comfortable with your health care and that includes feeling comfortable with this new model!

As a solo physician, Dr. Owen recognizes that this is a concern for many patients. It is her intent to minimize unnecessary trips to urgent care. Clearly, if you are having an emergency or cannot wait for a call back, this is not something she can handle. Go to the ER. However, please feel free to call outside of usual business hours. Within reason, it is Dr. Owen’s priority to return calls quickly, including on weekends. Many issues can be addressed with a quick phone call or video visit.

This is a great question! And one that Winding Brook is perfectly suited to answer. Dr. Owen is a board certified geriatrician and enjoys helping people “age well”. Because she is your physician, you will see her at each visit, where she will gain a thorough understanding of your needs and goals. Because the direct primary care model understands and emphasizes the importance of communication, she responds quickly to questions that arise between visits and can easily see you same day or next during the week for urgent needs. In addition, she understands the unique concerns and planning involved as you age. She is there to help you navigate this phase of your life!

If you would like Dr. Owen to talk with your children, then, absolutely! With your permission, she will reach out to your children. It is usually best to have one family member who takes the lead but everyone’s situation is different. In addition, if you would like a family member or friend or significant other to join you during a visit, either in person, or by telephone, that can be easily arranged as well. This is your health care!

Internal medicine, to put it simply, is the branch of primary care that focuses on adults. Board certification means that the physician has proven, through periodic testing, that they are up to date in their knowledge of adult medicine. Essentially, a physician who is board certified in internal medicine has dedicated their career to the care of adults. Below, you will find a link to the American College of Physicians with a great explanation! https://www.acponline.org/about-acp/about-internal-medicine

The study of Geriatrics is considered a subspecialty of primary care. To become a Geriatrician, a physician must complete 4 years of medical school, a minimum of 3 years of residency focusing on primary care of the adult (including family practice, med-peds, and internal medicine residencies) and then complete an additional fellowship in Geriatrics. Dr. Owen completed her fellowship at Yale New Haven Hospital where she studied the complex nature and unique characteristics of the aging patient. To become board certified, the physician must complete periodic extensive testing of their knowledge!