Lancaster, Pa. - Dr. Patrick Rohal of CovenantMD is taking a new approach to practicing medicine.
The physician is offering flat fees to patients with high deductible insurance and to people with no insurance.
“We’re contracting directly with our patient so they pay a flat monthly to the practice. Anywhere from $20 a month for kids care [and] up to $80 a month for seniors,” said Dr. Rohal.
The physician opened his practice in 2016. He believes direct care is better for patients.
“We’re a lot less busy than most doctor offices. So, we offer 30, 60, 90-minute appointments and we [are] able to get them in for same next day acute visits.”
Before opening his practice, Dr. Rohal worked as a traditional primary care physician.
He collected co-pays and saw patients every 15 minutes. The demanding schedule burned him out.
“Everyday I found that I was behind probably about an hour. My first line whenever I walked in the [waiting] room was ‘I’m sorry you’ve been waiting so long.'"
So in 2016, Dr. Rohal opened his direct primary care office in Lancaster and just three months ago, he opened another office in York.
His office deals with everything from routine office visits to simple procedures like skin biopsy’s or giving someone stitches all for a reasonable price.
However, Rohal said the best thing about his practice is spending time with patients and addressing their needs.
“Time is the most important ingredient and if we have to check blood work on them, we can quote the price. We can say that these four tests are going to be seventeen dollars. Whereas those four tests if he used his insurance [and] he has high deductible insurance that deductible doesn’t pay for any lab .”
Dr. Rohal believes that direct primary care is the way to the future.