Breakthrough’s Origin Story
The Backstory:
When kids dream of being doctors, they imagine themselves spending all day diagnosing and treating patients, communicating with families, and helping people navigate the challenges of staying or becoming healthy. But that is only a small part of being a doctor. After spending more than a decade in school, medical training, and residency, reality sets in.
A typical patient visit in a clinic or hospital might be scheduled for 20 minutes, with the doctor being present for only 7-8 minutes.
Instead of spending time with their patients, doctors are primarily burdened with clerical work - billing, coding, and reporting. They might spend 5 hours doing paperwork for every 1 hour they spend with patients. It’s no wonder that most doctors are overworked and constantly stressed.
I realized that I did not want to live my life feeling like I was letting my patients down unless I clocked 80+ hours a week so I could see them all. So instead of just accepting the fact that I was doomed to paperwork for the rest of my life, I started thinking about alternatives.
How could I create a clinic where I would be able to see my patients for longer, get to know them and their families, and be able to spend time following up and researching their ailments? You might think the solution would be “Start your own clinic!”… so did I. But it’s not that simple. The burden of reporting, billing, and coding still existed. Except with my own clinic, I wouldn’t have dozens of clerks and receptionists to help.
Then I discovered Direct Primary Care, and I realized my childhood dream could still come true. I became enthralled with the concept, and I started reaching out to doctors who had started their own DPC clinics. It only took a few weeks before I really started to believe it. Who would have thought that not accepting insurance and offering a membership service would free up so much time for doctors to do what they do?
But again and again I saw that it was possible to start and run a clinic with a staff of two or three, see 1/5 of the patients, and charge a monthly membership that allows my patients to contact me or come in whenever they need. I realized that longer visits and being more accessible for my patients would allow me to truly spend the time developing the relationships that are so important in providing quality healthcare.
The Now:
My husband and I started Breakthrough Pediatrics, PLLC in September of 2021. I had spent the better part of a year thinking about starting my own practice… and when I finally figured out how to do that the right way, it took only a matter of weeks before we committed to it.
Right away we started running the financials and crafting a business plan, all while spending time looking at properties and brainstorming. We finally found the right place: Ralph Pill Marketplace, Suite 5 in Downtown Concord. After negotiating some renovations, we signed a lease and started preparing to move in.
In the month of October, we hired a lawyer and drafted all of our patient paperwork, privacy documents, and so on. We took care of all the legal and financial stuff - you know insurance, bank accounts and the like. We also ordered all of our medical supplies, equipment, furniture, drafted a website, and continued to meet with DPC doctors as we refined our ideas.
And here we are - officially opening soon. Less than two months from conception to fruition. Isn’t it incredible what a doctor can do when they have the time to do it? We are wicked excited, and we can’t wait to start showing you all what quality healthcare can do for you family!