This piece supports our complete guide to building a cash pay wellness service line in functional, integrative and primary care.

What is direct primary care?

Direct primary care, often shortened to DPC, is a membership practice model. Patients pay the practice a recurring fee, usually monthly, for a defined set of primary care services. The relationship is direct between the patient and the practice, and the practice sets and posts its own fees.

Practices describe the model in their own terms, but a few features are common:

  • A written membership agreement that lists what the membership includes
  • Posted fees, so patients know the cost before they join
  • Smaller patient panels and more time with the provider
  • Direct access to the practice by phone, message or visit, as the agreement describes

The American Academy of Family Physicians and the Direct Primary Care Coalition both publish overviews of the model if you want a fuller description.

How does direct primary care work with prescriptions?

Prescribing works the way it does in any practice. A licensed provider decides whether a prescription is appropriate, writes it and supervises care, within their scope and their state's rules.

What varies is how the medication reaches the patient:

  • Sent to a pharmacy. The provider sends the prescription to a licensed pharmacy and the patient fills it there.
  • Dispensed in the office. Some states allow physicians to dispense certain medications in the practice, under specific rules and registration requirements. In North Carolina, the North Carolina Medical Board and the North Carolina Board of Pharmacy set those rules. Check them and talk to counsel before you dispense anything.
  • Inside or outside the membership. Whether a medication's cost is part of the membership or a separate cash pay item should be written down in your agreement and fee schedule.

Whatever the route, every product should come from a licensed source you've verified, with lot records and storage that matches the product.

How do you add wellness services to a DPC practice?

Treat the wellness line as its own small business line next to the membership.

  1. Pick a short menu with your providers. Keep it small at first.
  2. Check scope and status. For each service and product, check your boards' rules and the product's current FDA status. Status depends on the specific product.
  3. Decide inside or outside. For each service, write down whether it's included in the membership or offered separately as cash pay.
  4. Update your paperwork. Have counsel review your membership agreement, a service specific consent and a signed financial policy for anything outside the membership.
  5. Post the fees. Put a written fee schedule in one consistent place.
  6. Set up licensed supply with receiving, storage and lot records.
  7. Build the systems. Separate visit types, templates and payment items so the line shows up on its own in reports.
  8. Train the team on a short script: here's what the membership includes, here's what's separate, and clinical questions go to a provider.
  9. Soft open. RevMed puts it this way: "Invited patients, capped volume, real payments."

Common pitfalls

  • Blurry membership terms. If patients can't tell what's included, expect confusion at checkout.
  • Too many services at once. Each one adds documentation and training.
  • Results language. Describe services by what they are and who provides them, not by outcomes.

If peptides are part of your wellness mix, they're prescribed and supervised by your licensed provider and sourced only from licensed suppliers.

Where do we and RevMed fit?

We're an independent RevMed Group distribution partner based in Raleigh, so you have a local contact who knows the Triangle market. We'll get your RevMed account open and make introductions. Verification, ordering, fulfillment and launch support run through RevMed.

Once you're verified through RevMed, existing practices can be ordering within about 48 hours. Products come from licensed, vetted pharmacy and laboratory partners and are sold only to verified providers. As RevMed puts it: "One login, one invoice, and reorders on your schedule instead of a dozen vendor portals." RevMed also says ordering through one source means a lower cost per item.

If you'd like help with the build itself, RevMed's launch team runs a done with you program on a fixed 60 day calendar, separate from ordering.

Clinical decisions stay with your providers, and no revenue is guaranteed.

Next step

Adding wellness services to your direct primary care practice? Book a 15 minute intro, or open your clinic account through our Partner Link.