My DPC Story

Maryal Concepcion, MD

As the Direct Primary Care and Direct Care models grow, many physicians are providing care to patients in different ways. This podcast is to introduce you to some of those folks and to hear their stories. Go ahead, get a little inspired. Heck, jump in and join the movement! Visit us online at mydpcstory.com and JOIN our PATREON where you can find our EXCLUSIVE PODCAST FEED of extended interview content including updates on former guests!

  1. −8 h

    Leaving Corporate Medicine for Integrative Direct Primary Care: Ketamine-Assisted Therapy, MCAS, and Sustainable Boundaries with Dr. April Soto

    What does it look like to build a Direct Primary Care practice that protects your health as fiercely as it protects your patients? In this episode of My DPC Story, Dr. April Soto of Love and Light Integrative Medicine in South Pasadena, California shares how she systematically exited corporate medicine over three years and built an integrative DPC practice rooted in authenticity, boundaries, and healing. After more than a decade in fee-for-service family medicine and infectious disease, including HIV care, Dr. Soto completed an integrative medicine fellowship, trained in ketamine-assisted therapy, and opened a micropractice designed around her own capacity as a physician living with chronic illness and mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS). Today she receives MCAS referrals from specialists across the country and offers ketamine journeys, transgender care for patients from age three to eighty, and deeply unhurried visits that can run four hours. In this conversation, Dr. Soto and host Dr. Maryal Concepcion discuss: Why she left corporate medicine and how she planned her three-year exitFacing fears around money, homelessness, and financial security before opening a DPCPricing as a quality-based practice instead of competing on discountsWhat she learned from giving too many discounts in year oneHow her assistant Natalie supports meet and greets, workflows, and boundariesBuilding an inclusive practice for LGBTQIA+ patients, immigrant communities, and neurodivergent patientsCaring for patients afraid to seek care because of ICE enforcementMCAS diagnosis, testing pitfalls, and why these patients need a different kind of visitKetamine-assisted therapy pricing, informed consent, and managing patient expectationsBurnout, trauma as a superpower, and why inclusivity has to include the physicianHer five-year vision: wellness contracts, motivational speaking, and growing her teamWhether you are planning your DPC launch or working to make your existing practice more sustainable, this episode is a masterclass in valuing yourself, honoring your capacity, and practicing medicine on your own terms. Learn more about Dr. April Soto at Love and Light Integrative Medicine in South Pasadena, CA. Visit mydpcstory.com for the free 90-Day Startup Checklist, the Physician Owner's Planner, and DPC tools for every stage. Leave a voicemail at mydpcstory.com/contact and you might hear it on a future episode. Support the show on Patreon for commercial-free and extended episodes. Cooperative of American Physicians or CAP. Learn more about the medical malpractice company used by Dr. Maryal Concepcion since 2021 at capphysicians.com or by calling 800-356-5672. Guava Health. A premium patient experience, pulling data from EHRs and wearables, helping  see the full picture and uncover root causes to deliver personalized care. ZION HealthShare. Get peace of mind for major medical events without going back into the insurance maze.  Hint AI helps you move faster through every stage of the patient visit. Hint AI Chat lets you ask questions about a patient's chart and instantly surface relevant notes, labs, and clinical history. Learn more at hint.com/ai. Support the show GET your FREE MONTHLY BUSINESS TOOL DOWNLOAD Become A My DPC Story PATREON MEMBER! SPONSOR THE POD My DPC Story VOICEMAIL! DPC SWAG! FACEBOOK * INSTAGRAM * LinkedIn * TWITTER * TIKTOK * YouTube

    1 tim 36 min
  2. 28 juni

    Sustainability in Direct Primary Care: Building a Medical Career That Actually Lasts

    CLOSING SOON! VOTE IN THE 2026 MY DPC STORY BATTLE! VOTE HERE When most physicians hear the word sustainability, they think about keeping the doors open. But after a weekend with more than 80 doctors at the California DPC Summit, our host Dr. Maryal Concepcion came away certain it means so much more. In this episode of My DPC Story, five voices from the Direct Primary Care community share what makes a medical career, a practice, and a life sustainable. The throughline is simple. Healthcare becomes sustainable when the people providing the care are allowed to thrive. You will hear from: Dr. Deepti Mundkur, My Happy Doctor, nearly six years into DPC, on how continuity and deep patient relationships became her real measure of sustainability, including watching patients need less medication over time. Dr. Shannon Connolly of Open Arms Direct Primary Care on how community and physician innovation build confidence, and why scaling DPC looks nothing like the venture-backed version. Dr. Dedra Beckles on knowing your worth, protecting your energy, and why boundaries are not optional if you want to keep showing up with joy. Dr. Grace Hassell on authenticity, presence, and a powerful highlining metaphor for becoming the doctor she wrote about in her personal statement. Noreen Gutierrez, RN, on building sustainable teams through head, heart, and hands, and her five Rs for clinic culture. Registration is open for the Illinois DPC Summit this October in the Chicagoland area, and for California's third annual DPC Summit next year. Find both on the Events page at mydpcstory.com. If you will be at the AAFP co-sponsored DPC Summit in New Orleans, come say hi, grab the latest magazine, and share your story on a live mic. Want a summit in your state? Send us a note through the contact page at mydpcstory.com. Tennessee is already in the works. Leave me a voicemail at mydpcstory.com/contact and you might hear it on a future episode. For commercial-free episodes, extended conversations, and the State by State with Dr. Phil Eskew series, check out our Patreon. If this episode moved you, please leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts. It helps other physicians find these stories when they need them most. Keywords: direct primary care, DPC, DPC physician, physician burnout, sustainable medical practice, California DPC Summit, Illinois DPC Summit, membership medicine, family medicine, My DPC Story Cooperative of American Physicians or CAP. Learn more about the medical malpractice company used by Dr. Maryal Concepcion since 2021 at capphysicians.com or by calling 800-356-5672. Guava Health. A premium patient experience, pulling data from EHRs and wearables, helping  see the full picture and uncover root causes to deliver personalized care. ZION HealthShare. Get peace of mind for major medical events without going back into the insurance maze.  Hint AI helps you move faster through every stage of the patient visit. Hint AI Chat lets you ask questions about a patient's chart and instantly surface relevant notes, labs, and clinical history. Learn more at hint.com/ai. Support the show GET your FREE MONTHLY BUSINESS TOOL DOWNLOAD Become A My DPC Story PATREON MEMBER! SPONSOR THE POD My DPC Story VOICEMAIL! DPC SWAG! FACEBOOK * INSTAGRAM * LinkedIn * TWITTER * TIKTOK * YouTube

    1 tim 27 min
  3. Virtual Assistants for Physicians: Cut Admin Time and Grow Your DPC with Justin Lam

    24 juni

    Virtual Assistants for Physicians: Cut Admin Time and Grow Your DPC with Justin Lam

    What if you could get back fifteen hours of your work week without seeing a single extra patient? In this special episode, recorded live in a breakout room workshop following the California DPC Summit, Justin Lam, CEO of Cool Blue VA, sits down with a room full of physicians to talk about getting real help in your practice and in your life. Dr. Maryal Concepcion opens by sharing her own experience working with a virtual assistant she found through Cool Blue VA, then hands the room over to Justin. Justin walks through the questions so many physicians sit with when building a Direct Primary Care practice. Research shows only twenty-seven percent of a physician's time goes to direct patient care, while nearly half disappears into desk work and admin. Justin breaks down how to change that. You will hear: The "only you" test for deciding what to delegate and what to keep. If someone else can do it, it probably should not be on your plate. Why fifty percent is the right time to hire, not one hundred percent, and how waiting too long leads to rushed decisions and the wrong hire. How to design your ideal role before you ever start looking, including the top tasks to hand off, the tools your assistant will use, and how to measure success. The real difference between a local medical assistant and a virtual assistant, and what each one is best suited for. Local staff handle high-touch, in-person, revenue-generating work. Virtual assistants cover the inbox, scheduling, prior authorizations, records, specialist coordination, billing, and more. Practical hiring tools you can use today, from spelling and math checks to typing tests and strength assessments. The honest back and forth with physicians in the room, who ask about charting support, inventory, time zones, vacation coverage, billing by the minute, and even using a virtual assistant as an executive assistant for your home life. Whether you have a full panel or you are still mapping out your first month open, there is something here worth holding onto. Ready to grow your practice with the right support? Start here: coolblueva.com/dpcgrow A quick note on the audio. Because this was captured in a smaller breakout space, the sound gets tricky in spots. Thank you in advance for your patience with it. Connect with My DPC Story:  Listen, subscribe, and explore more at the My DPC Story podcast and media platform. Support the show GET your FREE MONTHLY BUSINESS TOOL DOWNLOAD Become A My DPC Story PATREON MEMBER! SPONSOR THE POD My DPC Story VOICEMAIL! DPC SWAG! FACEBOOK * INSTAGRAM * LinkedIn * TWITTER * TIKTOK * YouTube

    45 min
  4. 21 juni

    Sustainable Physician, Sustainable Person: Leaving Corporate Medicine for DPC with Dr. Jeremiah Fillo

    What happens to a family physician when the system that trained him decides he no longer has value? In this deeply personal episode, Dr. Maryal Concepcion hands the introduction to a special guest, then sits down with her husband, Dr. Jeremiah Fillo of Big Trees MD, for an honest conversation about sustainability, not just as a doctor, but as a whole person. Dr. Fillo shares the path from rural Nebraska training under Dr. Tim Blecha (Blay-kee), through residency in Modesto, into a corporate regional medical center that slowly turned the heat up the way you would on a frog in a pot. He talks candidly about the evergreen contract, the exclusivity clause, and the moment he was told to sign or be terminated while his wife was pregnant. He describes being let go and replaced by a non-physician model, the AB 890 reality in California, and the months of uncertainty that followed. This is also a conversation about what comes after the devaluation. Dr. Fillo opens up about how he held onto his sense of self when the system told him he had none, why splitting and stacking firewood mattered as much as any clinical workflow, and how he learned to quiet his "referralologist" training once he joined a Direct Primary Care practice with real time and autonomy. Listeners will hear how DPC reshaped his parenting, his task switching between in-office visits and asynchronous telemedicine, and his perspective on joining an established practice he did not build from scratch. For any physician who has felt like a charge sheet instead of a clinician, this episode is a reminder: the system does not get to decide your worth, and there is real life after fee-for-service. In this episode: How job share became the foundation of a sustainable two-physician family. Why residency training around fee-for-service leaves new physicians blindsided to independent options. What being replaced by a non-physician model does to a person, and how to rebuild. Why rural communities cannot sustain healthcare on a three-day-a-week, hard-to-access model. How Direct Primary Care creates room to practice full scope again and still be present for your kids. About the guest: Dr. Jeremiah Fillo is a family physician at Big Trees MD in Arnold, California, where he practices Direct Primary Care alongside Dr. Maryal Concepcion. He trained at Creighton University School of Medicine and completed residency in Modesto, with additional procedural training at Brodstone Memorial in rural Nebraska. Connect with My DPC Story: Subscribe wherever you listen, leave a review, and share this episode with a physician who needs to hear that there is a sustainable path forward. Have a question or a story of your own? Call the My DPC Story voicemail and you may hear your answer on a future episode. Cooperative of American Physicians or CAP. Learn more about the medical malpractice company used by Dr. Maryal Concepcion since 2021 at capphysicians.com or by calling 800-356-5672. Guava Health. A premium patient experience, pulling data from EHRs and wearables, helping  see the full picture and uncover root causes to deliver personalized care. ZION HealthShare. Get peace of mind for major medical events without going back into the insurance maze.  Hint AI helps you move faster through every stage of the patient visit. Hint AI Chat lets you ask questions about a patient's chart and instantly surface relevant notes, labs, and clinical history. Learn more at hint.com/ai. Support the show GET your FREE MONTHLY BUSINESS TOOL DOWNLOAD Become A My DPC Story PATREON MEMBER! SPONSOR THE POD My DPC Story VOICEMAIL! DPC SWAG! FACEBOOK * INSTAGRAM * LinkedIn * TWITTER * TIKTOK * YouTube

    58 min
  5. 14 juni

    You Don't Have to Build It Alone: Dr. Esther Khatibi on My DOC, Maternal Equity, and Sustainable Obstetric Care in Direct Primary Care

    What does it take to make women's healthcare access sustainable, not just for patients, but for the physician carrying the mission? In this episode of the My DPC Story podcast, Dr. Maryal Concepcion welcomes back Dr. Esther Khatibi, family physician who does surgical obstetrics, and founder of My DOC, a nonprofit delivering high-quality, evidence-based obstetric care to women regardless of their social, economic, religious, or ethnic background. Dr. Khatibi shares how she nearly tanked her own practice caring for pregnant patients who could not afford care anywhere else, and why the answer was not working harder. It was building a coalition: volunteer physicians, a board that believed in her before she had proof, sonographers, grant writers, and donors who each carried part of the load. This is a conversation about the maternal health gap, why early, individualized prenatal care matters most for the most vulnerable moms, including the higher risk faced by African American women, and why Direct Primary Care doctors are positioned to bring obstetric care back as the share of family physicians doing OB falls from 25 percent to just 7 percent. What you'll learn: How Dr. Khatibi went from nearly tanking her DPC to founding the My DOC nonprofitThe My DOC model: enrollment for uninsured, underinsured, or high-risk women on the DPC modelWhy early prenatal care reduces maternal morbidity and mortality, especially for African American momsHow volunteer physicians protect continuity from first visit through delivery and postpartumHow a 501(c)(3) sends most funds straight to patient services, labs, and ultrasoundsWhy the ER is the wrong place for a pregnant patient, and how a direct line to your doctor helpsDr. Concepcion and Dr. Khatibi also preview the My DPC Story fireside chats in New Orleans during the DPC Summit, where My DOC and Dr. Emily Holt's Poppy Direct Care come together for women's health access. Only 60 seats. Links: Support My DOC: mydoc.orgNew Orleans Women's Health Fundraiser: mydpcstory.com/upcoming-eventsSupport Poppy Direct Care's autoclave fund: https://bit.ly/4oqTS3DNew to DPC? Start here: mydpcstory.comSubscribe to My DPC Story on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and leave a five-star review so more physicians can find these stories. Cooperative of American Physicians or CAP. Learn more about the medical malpractice company used by Dr. Maryal Concepcion since 2021 at capphysicians.com or by calling 800-356-5672. Guava Health. A premium patient experience, pulling data from EHRs and wearables, helping  see the full picture and uncover root causes to deliver personalized care. Support the show GET your FREE MONTHLY BUSINESS TOOL DOWNLOAD Become A My DPC Story PATREON MEMBER! SPONSOR THE POD My DPC Story VOICEMAIL! DPC SWAG! FACEBOOK * INSTAGRAM * LinkedIn * TWITTER * TIKTOK * YouTube

    37 min
  6. 7 juni

    Designing a Sustainable Psychiatry Practice Around What Interests You: Dr. Daniel Hochman on DPC, Addiction Medicine, and Building Self Recovery

    In this June sustainability episode, Maryal sits down with Dr. Daniel Hochman, a psychiatrist in private practice in Texas and the founder of Self Recovery, an online addiction curriculum built from thousands of hours of one-to-one clinical work. Dr. Hochman left the insurance model early, around 2014, because the deep, philosophical therapy he wanted to practice could never be reimbursed in a fee-for-service system. His definition of sustainability is simple and worth sitting with: work that is aligned with your interests is sustainable, and the drag of burnout shows up when there is interference and conflict instead of alignment. What you will hear in this episode: Why sustainability is about alignment with your interests, not just doing less, and how "slow down" can mean five different thingsHis trial-and-error method for building a personal repertoire of recovery tools, using something as ordinary as what you choose to watch at nightHow he protects a sacred solo lunch, eats at his desk, and works calisthenics and movement into the day instead of a separate gym routineThe honest distinction between what drains him: a suicidal patient that morning did not deplete him, but a misaligned patient asking for a quick fix didHow he screens for fit by taking every call himself and asking one question: "Are you curious?"How to neutrally end or decline a relationship that is not a fit, and why modeling that can itself be therapeuticThe story behind Self Recovery: why he spent years writing a true addiction curriculum rather than referring patients to subpar optionsHis addiction model that became the course structure: emotional pain leads to craving, craving to following through, following through to false pleasure, with a capstone on how to actually liveWhy an educational designer helped him break heavy material into digestible, story-driven modules that keep people asking "what's next"Why online, private, self-paced work helps people face their hardest material when they are ready, on their own timeA one-minute motivational interviewing technique any physician can memorize: "On a scale of zero to 10, how ready are you to change?" then "Why not higher, and why not lower?"The tool most physicians leave on the table in addiction care, and how to pitch it as helping a patient be accountable to their own better halfHis incremental, no-big-scary-beast advice for physicians who feel stuck but are not yet a 10 out of 10 ready to make the leapConnect with Dr. Hochman: Self Recovery (online addiction curriculum, direct to consumer)The Zanko Method, a curriculum for professionals living with addiction.One-day Intensives at his practice: hochmanhealth.com (see the Intensives tab)New to DPC? Head to the Start Here page at mydpcstory.com for a practical startup guide and the essential beginner episodes. Got a question for the show? Leave a voice message on the contact page at mydpcstory.com. Want commercial-free and extended episodes? Join the My DPC Story Patreon. Follow along @mydpcstory and find everything at mydpcstory.com. If this episode inspired you, please leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts. It helps more physicians find these stories when they need them the most. Cooperative of American Physicians or CAP. Learn more about the medical malpractice company used by Dr. Maryal Concepcion since 2021 at capphysicians.com or by calling 800-356-5672. Guava Health. A premium patient experience, pulling data from EHRs and wearables, helping  see the full picture and uncover root causes to deliver personalized care. ZION HealthShare. Get peace of mind for major medical events without going back into the insurance maze.  Support the show GET your FREE MONTHLY BUSINESS TOOL DOWNLOAD Become A My DPC Story PATREON MEMBER! SPONSOR THE POD My DPC Story VOICEMAIL! DPC SWAG! FACEBOOK * INSTAGRAM * LinkedIn * TWITTER * TIKTOK * YouTube

    52 min
  7. 31 maj

    Two Doctors, Two DPC Clinics, and a Renovation Funded by Historic Tax Credits | Dr. Manuel Vogt, Texas DPC

    Can Direct Primary Care really pay off for a physician family carrying student loan debt and no employer match? In this episode of the My DPC Story podcast, host Dr. Maryal Concepcion talks with Dr. Manuel Vogt of Texas DPC about the real financial tools behind building a thriving practice. From a billboard at a railroad crossing to a 220-patient pre-enrollment list on opening day, Dr. Vogt shares how he and his wife built two separate Direct Primary Care clinics in San Antonio while protecting each other's autonomy. The standout story: how they used federal and state historic preservation tax credits, ADA credits, and a solar carport credit to fund a clinic renovation, then sold the state credits for 93 cents on the dollar. In this episode you'll learn: How a physician couple runs two independent DPC practices as a familyUsing historic tax credits to fund a clinic renovationSubleasing clinic space to cover your entire overheadMarketing to employers through a multi-clinic DPC umbrellaA workaround for Texas dispensing laws and discounted wholesale labsBetter diabetes care with CGMs and same-day textingFinding the panel size (around 500) that supports a daily 5K and school pickupsA pricing strategy that raises rates without losing patientsAdvocacy priorities: in-office dispensing and FSA eligibilityWhether you are a resident exploring Direct Primary Care or an established DPC owner planning expansion, this conversation is full of practical, money-saving ideas. 🔗 Vote in the Battle of the Support Stack and explore more at mydpcstory.com 🤝 Advocate with the Direct Primary Care Coalition at dpcare.org 💛 Join the My DPC Story Patreon for exclusive content Subscribe and follow My DPC Story for new episodes every week. If this helped, please leave a review to help others find the show. #DirectPrimaryCare #DPC #TexasDPC #MyDPCStory #PhysicianEntrepreneur #FamilyMedicine #HealthcareRenovation Cooperative of American Physicians or CAP. Learn more about the medical malpractice company used by Dr. Maryal Concepcion since 2021 at capphysicians.com or by calling 800-356-5672. Guava Health. A premium patient experience, pulling data from EHRs and wearables, helping  see the full picture and uncover root causes to deliver personalized care. ZION HealthShare. Get peace of mind for major medical events without going back into the insurance maze.  Support the show GET your FREE MONTHLY BUSINESS TOOL DOWNLOAD Become A My DPC Story PATREON MEMBER! SPONSOR THE POD My DPC Story VOICEMAIL! DPC SWAG! FACEBOOK * INSTAGRAM * LinkedIn * TWITTER * TIKTOK * YouTube

    46 min
  8. 24 maj

    The DPC Doctor Fighting Louisiana's Reproductive Care Crisis: Dr. Emily Holt of Poppy Direct Care

    Dr. Emily Holt returns to the podcast one year after opening Poppy Direct Care in New Orleans, and the landscape around her has changed dramatically. When Maryal last spoke with Dr. Holt, Poppy was just months old and DPC Summit attendees were touring her 100-year-old clinic house. A year later, her panel has more than doubled, she's about to opt out of Medicare, and she's a named plaintiff in a lawsuit against Louisiana's Attorney General over the state's classification of mifepristone and misoprostol as controlled substances. This conversation goes deep on what it actually looks like to build a mission-driven DPC in a state that keeps making reproductive healthcare harder to deliver. In this episode, Dr. Holt shares: How word of mouth (plus authentic Instagram and TikTok) became her entire growth engineWhy her practice is intentionally slow-rolling, and how she and her husband decided what "enough" looks likeThe patient shift happening as 2026 insurance premiums skyrocket and Medicaid eligibility stays restrictiveWhat it means that every Planned Parenthood in Louisiana has closed, and how Poppy is trying to fill the gapHer free Tuesday night clinic for birth control and rapid STI testing, and the new Louisiana Health Department rules designed to shut clinics like hers outWhy being a Baija Charitable Alliance affiliate mattered for 340B pricing, and what the new program changes mean for small DPCs serving uninsured patientsThe reality of trying to provide IUDs for emergency contraception when no nearby pharmacy stocks themHow being her own boss let her join a lawsuit that employed physicians told her they couldn't touchWhat Reproductive Health Access Project (RHAP) offers cliniciansHer vision for turning Poppy into a training ground for med students and residents shut out of reproductive health experience in-stateMemorable moments: "If you can't stand for something, you will fall for anything."The state offering one dollar per patient to reimburse rapid STI testing supplies that cost forty-five dollarsThree generations of plumbers getting Poppy ready for Monday patientsWhy patients tell her, unprompted, that they trust her to trust themResources mentioned: Dr. Emily Holt's GoFundMe for an autoclave at Poppy Direct CareTake Me Home Program — free at-home HIV, hepatitis C, and syphilis testing mailed nationwideReproductive Health Access Project (RHAP)Dr. Byron Jasper and Byja Charitable AllianceAAFP DPC Member Interest GroupThe July My DPC Story live event in New Orleans, pairing Dr. Esther Katibi's nonprofit with Dr. Holt's work at PoppyDr. Holt's advice for DPC physicians thinking about reproductive health access in their own communities: find the helpers, get connected to local groups already doing the work, and don't wait until you have everything figured out to start. Cooperative of American Physicians or CAP. Learn more about the medical malpractice company used by Dr. Maryal Concepcion since 2021 at capphysicians.com or by calling 800-356-5672. Guava Health. A premium patient experience, pulling data from EHRs and wearables, helping  see the full picture and uncover root causes to deliver personalized care. ZION HealthShare. Get peace of mind for major medical events without going back into the insurance maze.  Hint AI helps you move faster through every stage of the patient visit. Hint AI Chat lets you ask questions about a patient's chart and instantly surface relevant notes, labs, and clinical history. Learn more at hint.com/ai. Support the show GET your FREE MONTHLY BUSINESS TOOL DOWNLOAD Become A My DPC Story PATREON MEMBER! SPONSOR THE POD My DPC Story VOICEMAIL! DPC SWAG! FACEBOOK * INSTAGRAM * LinkedIn * TWITTER * TIKTOK * YouTube

    59 min

Om

As the Direct Primary Care and Direct Care models grow, many physicians are providing care to patients in different ways. This podcast is to introduce you to some of those folks and to hear their stories. Go ahead, get a little inspired. Heck, jump in and join the movement! Visit us online at mydpcstory.com and JOIN our PATREON where you can find our EXCLUSIVE PODCAST FEED of extended interview content including updates on former guests!

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