HOUSTON – Affordable healthcare has been a hot button topic for decades and for one Houston doctor, she is doing what she can to ensure all people have access to affordable healthcare through what’s called Direct Primary Care.
Dr. Diana Medina Galvan with Luminous Health & Wellness said, “That is a membership model of RX, in which the patient pays me, a monthly, affordable, flat, membership fee, to have access to me, basically at their fingertips, coupled with discounted labs, discounted imaging, and all primary care procedures are free.”
The cost of Direct Primary Care membership for a patient will depend on their age.
Medina Galvan was born and raised in New Jersey. She said going to the doctor was a rarity, as her family did not have the means.
Dr. Diana Medina Galvan said, “My mother, whenever I had an alignment, would pray on it, rub Vicks on it, and try every home remedy. I told my mother, when I grow up, I am going to take care of people like us.”
Robert Garza is Medina Galvan’s patient. He said, “She treats every patient like they are an individual, not as a number.”
Jose Garcia is also a patient. He said, “Accessibility, cost-wise, it’s way cheaper than making an appointment, going to the hospital, to me it’s the accessibility.”
Both patients have insurance. Both pay a monthly membership for direct primary care.
“If you’re less than 17 years old, it is $25 a month with an enrollment of a parent. If you’re 18-25, it is $75 a month and if you’re 26 and older it is $99 a month,” explained Medina Galvan. “That includes as many visits a patient needs, whether it is in person or virtually, and the visits are non-rushed. My patients, get anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and they have access to me through a HIPPA compliant app. That they can text me whenever they need me, because all the primary procedures are included for free, a lot of times we can take care of things without them having to go to urgent care or ER.”
Medina Galvan said this is impacting healthcare as we know it.
“They call us disruptors, they say we are rebels, and the thing is I had to leave the traditional practice,” Galvan said. “The average visit was what, seven minutes with my patients and you cannot assess a patient in seven minutes and give them good quality care. I don’t care what your socioeconomic status is, I don’t care what your legal status is, I don’t care about any of those factors, I just want to take care of you as a patient.”
Dr. Medina said half of her patients do have insurance, while the other half does not and relies on membership to direct primary care. According to DPCfrontier.com, a site that helps people find a provider, there are more than 1,500 DPC practices throughout the country.