DPC Life: Conversations Beyond the Practice

Anne Gonzalez, MD
  • 5.0 (7)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

Your practice should fit your life, not the other way around. DPC Life is the podcast for independent-minded doctors who are ready to step out of the system and into Direct Primary Care. Each week, we share honest stories from physicians who’ve built practices that work for their patients, their families, and themselves. Whether you’re managing kids’ schedules, craving more time for yourself, or looking to practice medicine on your own terms, this show is your guide and your community. Subscribe now and join the DPC family that’s got your back. Brought to you by Harmony Ops Health

  1. 5d ago

    The Lean Startup: Running a Telehealth-Only DPC (with Dr. Shehzein Khan)

    Today my guest is Dr. Shehzein Khan, a family medicine physician in Irvine, California who launched her practice, Solace Primary Care, during her maternity leave and never went back to her panel of 1,700 patients. Dr. Khan is part of a growing group of physicians choosing to start DPC with a telehealth-first model, keeping overhead lean while building slowly and intentionally around a life that actually fits. We talk about how she heard about DPC through Instagram, why she resigned mid-maternity leave, and what it takes to set up a HIPAA-compliant telehealth practice from scratch. She explains why she believes in doing the uncomfortable thing, whether that’s posting the cringey first video, cold calling a sublease space, or launching your practice postpartum when the timing makes no sense on paper. If you’re a physician wondering whether you need a physical space before you can start, this conversation is for you. IN THIS EPISODE Telehealth first: the three things you actually need to set up and why keeping it lean matters Malpractice insurance for a telehealth-only practice and what to ask before you commit to a carrier What a telehealth DPC membership covers and how to explain labs, imaging, and outside care to patients Scheduling around a 15-month-old and building a practice that bends around your life, not the other way around Finding sublease space through physician mom groups, Facebook, Threads, and cold calls to specialists Social media without the perfection: posting messy, using B-reels, and letting the algorithm find your people Practice: Solace Primary Care Location: Irvine, CA (Orange County) Specialty: Family Medicine Model: Telehealth DPC (transitioning to hybrid in-person) CONNECT WITH DR. KHAN Website: https://www.solaceprimarycare.com Instagram: @dr.shehzeinkhan Facebook: Shehzein Khan ENJOY THIS EPISODE? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify Share with any physician, resident, or new parent who is wondering whether telehealth DPC is possible  Subscribe so you do not miss any future episodes focused on telehealth  🛑 Stop staring at the blank screen. The Harmony Ops Social Media Sprint is the 14-day program I built to get DPC practices set up and posting consistently in their own voice. No blank screen, no wondering what to say. Join the 14-day Social Media Sprint and get posting in your own voice.

    42 min

  2. Jun 16

    Resident to DPC Owner: The Real Costs & Strategy with Dr. Claire Russell

    Episode #2 in the DPC Series: From Resident to DPC Practice Owner - The Real Costs & Strategy with Dr. Claire Russell Today my guest is Dr. Claire Russell, a family medicine resident in Hendersonville, NC who is weeks away from graduation and getting ready to open Clinic by the Sea in Morehead City, NC. Dr. Russell is part of a growing wave of new physicians choosing to step straight from residency into DPC, and she's building her practice from the ground up in a small coastal community. We talk about her childhood dreams of being a country doc, why she chose a rural family medicine residency on purpose, the messaging she's writing for her clinic, and why one should do things even if you don’t feel ready. If you're a resident, a student, or anyone wondering whether you have to wait years before you start, this conversation is for you. IN THIS EPISODE Going straight from residency into DPC and why more new graduates are choosing this path Why Claire picked a rural family medicine residency to get the broad scope DPC requires The brand voice behind Clinic by the Sea: hanging your shingle and being a family doctor again Enrollment fee or no enrollment fee, and the timing of opening the wait list "Do it scared": why your landing page does not need to be perfect to go live Practice: Clinic by the Sea (opening October 2026) Location: Morehead City, NC (Carteret County) Specialty: Family Medicine  Residency: MAHEC Hendersonville (graduating June 2026) Wait List Opens: July 2026 CONNECT WITH DR. RUSSELL Website: https://www.clinicbytheseadpc.com launching summer 2026  Instagram: @clinicbytheseadpc  ENJOY THIS EPISODE? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify Share with any resident, med student, or new graduate considering DPC straight out of training Subscribe so you don't miss Dr. Russell's next check-in once Clinic by the Sea opens its doors 📲 Stop staring at the blank screen.  The Harmony Ops Social Media Sprint is the 14-day program I built to get DPC practices set up and posting consistently in their own voice. No blank screen, no cringe.  Join the 14-day Social Media Sprint and get posting in your own voice.

    48 min

  3. Jun 9

    The Networking Formula Every DPC Doctor Needs

    I'm coaching Dr. Shikha Joshi of Bloom Direct Primary Care in Buffalo, New York. Dr. Joshi is four months into her DPC after nine years as a hospitalist, and she's doing what most early-stage DPC docs are doing: showing up at vendor events, talking to anyone who will listen, and wondering why it isn't converting faster. We dig into her elevator pitch and rebuild it from scratch around patient pain points, then work through the follow-up rhythm, the messaging on her social media, and how to spot which of her referral partners is actually her best one. If you're early stage and the marketing piece is the part keeping you up at night, this coaching call is for you. IN THIS EPISODE How to rebuild your DPC elevator pitch around patient pain points instead of features The cocktail party formula: "You know when... well, at my practice..." and why it works Why the fortune really is in the follow-up, and how often is actually too often Niching down as a generalist: speaking to one ideal patient without excluding everyone else How to figure out which of your referral partners is your strongest, and what to do with that Practice: Bloom Direct Primary Care, Buffalo NY Specialty: Internal Medicine (also Lifestyle Medicine and Obesity Medicine certified) Background: 9 years as a Hospitalist Launched: January 2026 CONNECT WITH DR. JOSHI If you live in the Buffalo area and want to learn more about Bloom Direct Primary Care, or if you're a fellow DPC physician who wants to follow her work, here's where to find her. Website: https://www.bloomdirectpc.com/ Instagram: @shikhajoshimd https://instagram.com/shikhajoshimd Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61583881385029 ENJOY THIS EPISODE? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify Share with any DPC doc who is still rewriting their elevator pitch in the car on the way to a networking event Subscribe so you don't miss the next coaching call or guest conversation 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤. Get started with the 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻.

    41 min

  4. Jun 2

    AI, Branding, and Your First Patients: DPC Marketing in 2026

    Today I'm sitting down with Alexa Torres of Care Identity, a brand and web designer who has spent close to a decade working specifically with Direct Primary Care physicians. Alexa has built over 100 DPC websites and cash pay practice brands, and she has more clarity about how DPC docs actually attract patients than almost anyone I've talked to. We get into niching down, why in-person networking is still the fastest way to grow, the psychology behind a buyer who visited her site 52 times before purchasing, and the AI twin work she's been doing for her own brand and her clients. If you're early stage and feeling like your marketing isn’t working, this is the conversation you need to hear. IN THIS EPISODE Why niching down tripled Alexa's business and what that looks like for a DPC practice The hill Alexa will die on: in-person connection is still the fastest way to grow a DPC practice The 52-touchpoint story: what one buyer's journey teaches us about patience and online content Sales as a service: how I think about leading with patient pain points instead of DPC features How Alexa is using an AI twin to create on-brand content without burning out on photo shoots ABOUT THE GUEST Business: Care Identity (DPC brand and web design) Focus: Brand identity, websites, and marketing for DPC physicians Track Record: Over 100 DPC and cash pay practice websites Years in DPC: Close to 10 years working with DPC practices CONNECT WITH ALEXA Care Identity : www.careid.us Klinishen’s Atelier : https://www.theklinishensatelier.com I Need Patients Yesterday: https://www.theklinishensatelier.shop/inpy Create Your AI Twin: https://www.theklinishensatelier.shop/aitwin ENJOY THIS EPISODE? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify Share with any DPC physician who feels stuck on the marketing side of building their practice Subscribe so you don't miss the next episode on automations and using AI in your workflows Join the DPC Lifer Club today 💙 First live call starts this Wednesday, June 3. Monthly calls, real DPC conversations, and a community that grows with you. Join here: https://dpclife.com/club Starting your DPC practice is exciting. Losing patients because your systems aren't ready yet? Not so much.The Early Practice Plan is built for exactly where you are right now.

    44 min

  5. May 26

    Marketing a DPC When You Hate Social Media, Coaching Call with Dr. Moizah Saad (Part 2)

    After almost two years of paying for DPC marketing companies that did not deliver, Dr. Moizah Saad finally decided to take control of her own growth. In Part 2 of our live coaching call, we walk through the exact networking strategies, elevator pitch formula, and social media mindset shifts she is using to grow her DPC + hybrid clinic in Princeton, New Jersey. We also unpack the “Mamdani moment” that changed how she sees showing up online and why it matters more than she realized. If you’re a DPC doctor who feels burned by agencies or flustered by marketing, this one is for you. In this episode The DPC elevator pitch formula I share with every doctor I coach Why most paid DPC marketing companies fail us, and what to do instead The “Mamdani moment” that flipped how Dr. Saad thinks about social media “Fortune is in the follow up” and how to stop letting warm leads die in a drawer Why building a regional DPC support group might be the move for New Jersey About Dr. Saad Practice: DPC + Hybrid Clinic, Princeton NJ Specialty: Internal Medicine Years in DPC: ~2 years (and counting) Patient Focus: Adults in their 40s who feel unheard by traditional medicine Enjoyed this episode? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify Share with any DPC physician, aspiring DPC owner, or burned out doctor who needs the reminder that the marketing learning curve is universal Subscribe so you don’t miss the next coaching call on DPC Life 📈 Thinking about opening your own DPC? Find out if your systems are ready. Take the free 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝘇👇 🔗 Starter System Quiz

    39 min

  6. May 19

    Uncovering Your Ideal Patient Avatar: Coaching Session with Dr. Moizah Saad

    In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Moizah Saad, an internal medicine physician who left California corporate medicine, moved to New Jersey, and opened her hybrid DPC clinic, Jersey Family Health. She thought: “If I open my doors and put up a website, patients will come.”Reality: crickets. On this live coaching call, we unpack the marketing blind spots corporate medicine never teaches you and walk step by step through one core shift: stopping the “everyone is my patient” mindset so she can finally speak directly to the exact patients who are already looking for her. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why “build it and they will come” is a lie: How corporate jobs hide the business side, and why a website and a logo are not a patient acquisition plan. “All adults” is not a niche: How trying to talk to everyone guarantees no one feels like you’re talking to them. How to find your true patient avatar: We mine Dr. Saad’s most meaningful cases to identify her real sweet spot: mid-life women with complex, “unsolved” medical issues who feel brushed off by the system. Using channels that actually fit you: What happened when she stopped forcing herself onto every social platform and leaned into local community WhatsApp groups instead. Meet the guest: Dr. Moizah Saad Internal Medicine physician Founder, Jersey Family Health (hybrid DPC, New Jersey) Focus: complex medical mysteries and mid‑life women with chronic fatigue and long-ignored symptoms Current challenge: unlearning corporate assumptions about “if you accept insurance, patients appear” and rebuilding real-world marketing skills from scratch. From Dr. Anne I’m building something specifically for DPC Life listeners and I want it to be actually useful, not theoretical.There’s a short 2-minute form linked below: what you’re stuck on, what’s helped you most so far, and what you want to hear about next. Everyone who fills it out gets a free, brandable DPC slide deck you can customize for Rotary, employer groups, or any community talk. You can also check the box if you want early access when the DPC Life community launches. Form + free slides: dpcfoundations.com If you enjoyed this episode: Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify Share it with any primary care doc, hospitalist, ER doc, or specialist who needs to hear about DPC  Subscribe so you don’t miss the next episode of DPC Life

    30 min

  7. May 12

    Episode #1 of the Hospitalist to DPC Series with Dr. Brian Bost

    After 16 years as a med-peds hospitalist, Dr. Brian Bost launched B2 Direct Care in Denver, but he didn’t completely give up hospital work, unlike most DPC docs. He kept his hospital shifts, started telemedicine-only at $75/month, and is taking a deliberately slow rollout. In this first call of an ongoing series, he and Dr. Anne Gonzalez review his hybrid model practice, pricing, imposter syndrome, and his developing hospital-to-home program. IN THIS EPISODE Why the "all in or all out" advice doesn't work for every physician How to launch DPC slowly while keeping a hospitalist W-2 income Pricing: $75/month telemedicine and the $140/$220/$300 brick-and-mortar plan The hospital-to-home program he's building for post-discharge patients The Hospitalist-to-DPC Facebook group he started that’s growing fast, with 198 members in under a month GUEST Practice: B2 Direct Care, Denver CO Specialty: Med-Peds  ·  16 years Hospitalist Launched: February 2026 (telemedicine soft launch) Members: ~15 (word-of-mouth only) HOSPITALIST TO DPC SERIES This is the first in an ongoing series. Dr. Anne and Dr. Bost will reconnect every 6 weeks to track his real-time progress: brick and mortar timeline, wait list growth, hospital-to-home program build-out, and how the hybrid hospitalist-DPC model holds up. FROM DR. ANNE I'm building something for DPC Life listeners and I want to make sure it's actually useful to you. There's a short form linked below - three questions, two minutes. What are you stuck on, what's helped you most, what do you want to hear more about. Everyone who fills it out gets a free brandable DPC presentation you can customize for Rotary clubs, employer groups, or any community talk. And check the box if you want to be notified when the DPC Life community launches!. https://dpcfoundations.com/ ENJOY THIS EPISODE? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify Share with any hospitalist, ER doc, or specialist who's been told DPC is all-or-nothing Subscribe so you don't miss the next Hospitalist to DPC call with Dr. Bost in 6 weeks KEY TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Cold open — "You're either all in or you're all out" 02:00 Why a 16-year hospitalist decided to open a DPC — the family member story that changed everything 04:00 How DPC found him: LinkedIn, Facebook, and a community of physicians who actually welcomed him in 05:30 Pushing back on the all-or-nothing message: the soft launch strategy 10:30 Why he's choosing night shifts as a hospitalist to keep both worlds open 14:00 The $75 telemedicine price — and the $140/$220/$300 model coming with brick and mortar 17:00 Why he hasn't opted out of Medicare yet (and when he plans to) 21:00 The hospital-to-home program — his passion project and what it could become 28:30 Hospitalist-to-DPC Facebook group: 198 members in under a month 31:00 What's next: brick and mortar in 2 months, growing the wait list, hiring web help 38:00 Five-year vision: full-time DPC, opted out of Medicare, possibly the traditional 5-day office

    45 min

  8. May 5

    From Hospital Rounds to Garden Clubs: How Dr. Nadia Sirdar Built the DPC Practice Nobody Said She Could — Part 2

    You can be the most skilled physician in your city, but if nobody knows you exist, your practice won't grow. In Part 2, the real strategy comes out. Dr. Nadia Sirdar walks through the exact patient acquisition tactics that got her to 50 members- including the farmer's market funnel that outperformed everything else (and the story of Mitch, a man in his 80s who may be her most effective referral source), the fireside chats that spread through garden clubs, and the speaking engagements that led her to the Maryland General Assembly advocating for menopause care legislation. She also gets into something worth recognizing: physician visibility as an ethical obligation. In an era of rampant health misinformation, showing up as a trusted, evidence-based voice isn't optional anymore. It's part of the job. KEY TAKEAWAYS Visibility is a clinical responsibility. Patients are being targeted by grifters. A trusted physician voice in the room matters. The farmer's market was Dr. Sirdar's top acquisition channel- not because it was clever, but because the conversations were real and deep in a way no digital ad can replicate. Patients need multiple touchpoints before they sign up. Consistent presence across multiple community spaces compounds over time. One core talk can fuel five different engagements. Recycling content leverages your efforts and protects your time.  A CRM is the difference between a patient connection that converts and one that disappears. MEMORABLE QUOTES "My patient said: 'My garden club sent me and I'm the first one. If this goes well, I'm telling my garden club.” RESOURCES & REFERENCES MENTIONED Sibley Hospital (Johns Hopkins Community) — Dr. Sirdar invited to keynote the Foundation's Young Professionals luncheon Maryland Medical Society — Dr. Sirdar invited to co-chair the Women in Medicine committee Maryland General Assembly — Doctor of the Day program; site of menopause care insurance coverage legislation ABOUT DR. NADIA SIRDAR Specialty: Internal Medicine (ABIM Board Certified) Background: Former Hospitalist Practice: Bethesda Modern Primary Care Location: Bethesda, Maryland Focus: Adult Primary Care | Menopause & Perimenopause Website: bethesdadoctor.com Instagram: @drnadiasirdar Facebook: Dr. Nadia Sirdar LISTEN, SHARE & CONNECT Missed Part 1? Go back and hear how a hospitalist defied everyone who said she couldn't do this — and built a thriving practice anyway. Rate and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — your review helps other physicians find this show Share with any physician who thinks DPC isn't for their background Tag us and @drnadiasirdar with your biggest takeaway FROM DR. ANNE I'm building something for DPC Life listeners and I want to make sure it's actually useful to you. There's a short form linked below - three questions, two minutes. What are you stuck on, what's helped you most, what do you want to hear more about. Everyone who fills it out gets a free brandable DPC presentation you can customize for Rotary clubs, employer groups, or any community talk. And if you want to be notified when the DPC Life community launches, there's a checkbox for that too. Link to form: Click here KEY TIMESTAMPS 04:00 The rule of three touchpoints: patients say "I saw you three times before I signed up" 05:30 Why education has value even when patients don't sign up directly with you 06:00 Garden clubs, Mahjong groups, and how women's community circles became a referral network 10:00 The farmer's market as the #1 funnel — the full origin story (including Mitch) 13:00 What farmer's market conversations actually look like: deep, not fluffy 17:00 Funnel ranking: Farmer's Market → Fireside Chats → Larger Speaking Events

    40 min
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About

Your practice should fit your life, not the other way around. DPC Life is the podcast for independent-minded doctors who are ready to step out of the system and into Direct Primary Care. Each week, we share honest stories from physicians who’ve built practices that work for their patients, their families, and themselves. Whether you’re managing kids’ schedules, craving more time for yourself, or looking to practice medicine on your own terms, this show is your guide and your community. Subscribe now and join the DPC family that’s got your back. Brought to you by Harmony Ops Health

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