When Johns Hopkins Health System employees choose health care coverage for calendar year 2021, the Direct Primary Care (DPC) practice will continue as a benefit.

Sandy Zuylen looks forward to continuing her care with the practice in 2021. A physician liaison and marketing coordinator for Johns Hopkins Community Physicians, the Bethesda resident praises the successful treatment she received for a knee injury she sustained during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. (See sidebar: Direct Primary Care Is Convenient and Responsive.)

Located in Columbia, Maryland, the practice offers longer hours than most traditional doctors’ offices, as well as virtual services with a primary care provider. After nearly two years in operation, DPC continuously receives among the highest patient experience scores of all primary care practices in the nation, according to Steve Kravet, president of Johns Hopkins Community Physicians, the organization responsible for the practice.

In 2019, it received an award for innovations in clinical care from the Office of Johns Hopkins Physicians.

“Our vision was to fundamentally change the way we deliver primary care,” Kravet says. “Further, through enhanced patient-provider relationships, DPC has decreased unnecessary urgent care, emergency care and specialty visits. During COVID-19, DPC was readily able to adapt to the increased reliance on telemedicine, as this was already a fundamental part of the program.”

DPC providers Norman Dy, a primary care physician, and Carolyn Le, a certified registered nurse practitioner, enjoy working closely with patients to develop treatment plans and to engage them in their own care. Below, Le answers some frequently asked questions.

1. What services do you provide?

We offer sick visits, follow-ups, preventive health care, an annual physical and routine Pap smears. A comprehensive list is available at jhcp.org/DPC.

2. How do I enroll in Direct Primary Care for 2021? Must current members re-enroll?

Current members will automatically be re-enrolled for calendar year 2021.

We are accepting new patients into the practice. Interested Johns Hopkins Health System employees, with the exception of Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital due to location restrictions, can sign up during open enrollment using the SmartSource benefits platform. Space is limited, however, so make sure you sign up early!

Anyone who enrolls will need to agree to participation requirements, such as seeing a DPC provider at least once before March 30, 2021.

While we prefer this first visit be in person, we will allow video visits due to COVID-19 concerns. We want to make sure you feel comfortable with us. Knowing you better, and understanding your health history, will help guide us with your preventive care.

Specifics about how to enroll are available at jhcp.org/DPC.

3. What are the infection prevention measures at your practice to help reduce the spread of COVID-19?

We understand your concerns about COVID-19 and the gravity of our current situation. To limit potential exposures, we have taken several precautionary measures. All patients are screened when scheduling an office visit, and screened again upon arrival to the office. To limit potential patient-to-patient interaction, we place patients in an exam room as soon as possible, purposefully space our office visits and follow one-directional traffic within the office.

We thoroughly disinfect the exam rooms between every patient, and frequently clean high-touch surfaces throughout the day. Additionally, we encourage our patients to schedule a video visit instead of an office visit when appropriate.

4. Is Direct Primary Care an insurance plan?

No. Direct Primary Care is an added benefit to the Employer Health Program (EHP) PPO or EPO plans. Any services not covered by the Direct Primary Care benefit will be billed according to your selected EHP plan.

5. What is the difference between Direct Primary Care and urgent care?

With urgent care, you probably see someone you’ve never met before. As your Direct Primary Care provider, we’ve had opportunities to talk in depth about your concerns and about things that can contribute to or exacerbate those concerns. We can better address whatever is going on because we have that history and that relationship, and we can continue to monitor and manage your care.

6. Can patients really call you in the middle of the night and on weekends?

Absolutely. Patients understand when something is urgent, and honestly, I appreciate that they call to let me know what is going on. Oftentimes, it is something that I can manage remotely and schedule a follow-up office visit instead of sending patients to urgent care or the emergency room. Our patients have really benefited from this service.

7. Do I use Direct Primary Care to help manage my specialty care?

We can work closely with your specialist. I often get alerts whenever a patient has seen a specialist [within Johns Hopkins]. After reviewing the notes, I usually reach out to the patient and say, “Maybe we should touch base, talk about what happened in the specialist visit and make sure we are all on the same page.” In Direct Primary Care, we tie everything back together and make sure that we have the big picture.

8. I see that the copayment for the first eight office visits is waived through the benefit. What counts as a visit? What happens when I reach my limit?

The Direct Primary Care practice considers any primary care office visit or a video visit as one visit. After you reach your limit, each additional visit is covered by your EHP insurance plan with your regular copayments. If we have to conduct an ancillary service, such as cryotherapy [freezing moles], or conduct any lab work, there will be a cost. However, these services will be billed at your normal EHP plan rate.

9. Can I sign up my spouse and children for Direct Primary Care?

After you elect to participate, you can also sign up your spouse and adult children for the benefit. Direct Primary Care doesn’t offer pediatric services. However, your selected EHP insurance plan will cover any child under age 18. That means you can still bring your kids to the pediatrician, just as you do now.

10. What would you tell an employee who is interested in the program, but is on the fence about signing up?

Direct Primary Care is ideal for anyone looking to build a stronger patient-provider relationship, and seeking more personalized care.