Frequently Asked Questions

  • Direct Primary Care (DPC) is a healthcare model where patients pay a simple monthly membership fee for comprehensive primary care services. This eliminates insurance billing, copays, and surprise fees. You get unlimited visits, same-day or next-day appointments, and direct access to your physician via phone, email, or secure messaging. It’s like having a doctor in the family.

  • Direct Primary Care benefits anyone who wants to take control of their health. Whether you’re healthy and want to stay that way through preventive care, managing chronic conditions and seeking root-cause solutions, frustrated with rushed doctor visits and impersonal care, or between insurance plans or uninsured and need affordable primary care access—DPC offers a better way. If you’ve felt dismissed or overlooked in traditional healthcare settings, our model ensures you’ll never feel that way again.

  • No, we do not bill insurance companies for primary care services covered by your membership. However, many patients pair their DPC membership with a high-deductible health insurance plan for coverage of services outside the clinic, such as hospitalizations, surgeries, specialist care, and emergency room visits. This combination often reduces overall healthcare costs while providing comprehensive protection.

  • The traditional insurance-based system requires high patient volumes and rushed appointments to stay financially viable. By removing insurance companies from the equation, we eliminate the administrative burden and can focus entirely on your care. This means longer appointment times (60-90 minutes), same-day availability, direct communication with your doctor, and medical decisions based solely on what’s best for you—not what generates the highest insurance reimbursement.

  • No. Direct Primary Care is not health insurance. It provides comprehensive primary care services through a membership model. We strongly encourage patients to maintain a high-deductible health insurance plan (or catastrophic coverage) to protect against unexpected hospitalizations, surgeries, specialist care, and emergency services not provided in our clinic.

  • While both models offer enhanced access and smaller patient panels, concierge practices still bill insurance in addition to charging membership fees. Direct Primary Care does not bill insurance at all. This approach reduces administrative complexity, improves patient privacy, and creates clear, predictable costs for patients without surprise charges or hidden fees.

  • Your monthly membership includes:

    • Unlimited office and virtual visits with no copays or additional fees

    • Direct access to Dr. Martin via secure messaging, email, or phone (including after-hours for urgent medical concerns)

    • Same-day or next-day appointments for urgent needs whenever possible

    • Extended appointment times (typically 60-90 minutes) so you never feel rushed

    • Annual wellness exams with preventive screenings

    • Chronic disease management for conditions like diabetes, hypertension, asthma, and depression

    • Acute illness care for infections, minor injuries, and common ailments

    • In-office procedures including laceration repair, wound care, abscess drainage, ear wax removal, lesion removal, and skin biopsies

    • Basic onsite lab testing such as urinalysis, flu and COVID screening, and strep tests

    • Cardiac EKG and point-of-care ultrasound for diagnostic services

    • Care coordination with specialists when needed

    • Lifestyle and nutrition counseling for disease prevention

  • The membership does not include hospital care, obstetrical care, emergency room visits, specialist consultations, advanced laboratory testing, pathology services, or diagnostic imaging (X-rays, CT scans, MRIs).

  • We offer basic point-of-care labs in clinic included in your membership.

    We also offer in-house blood draw for send-out labs provided at-cost.

    You can also get labs ordered to be drawn at any Labcorp or Quest location nationwide. Labcorp or Quest labs can be paid with either your insurance or our negotiated cash prices.

  • We offer basic point-of-care ultrasound and EKG included in your membership.

    Get more advanced imaging such as X-ray / CT / MRI / mammogram ordered and sent to your preferred location; examples of local imaging include: RAYUS Radiology, VMFH Radiology, UW Medicine Radiology

    You can pay for advanced imaging using your insurance or discounted cash pay rates.

  • Get any medication prescription sent to your preferred pharmacy nationwide.

    You can use insurance or cash pay for prescription medications.

  • Dr. Martin will work with you to identify the right specialist for your needs or coordinate with specialists you prefer and send the appropriate referrals. He prioritizes thorough communication and follow-up to ensure continuity of care. Discounted e-consults with specialists are also available.

    Specialist referrals can be paid using insurance or cash pay.

  • Appointments are flexible and designed around your needs.

    Office hours are by appointment only; members are given a direct patient booking link, patient portal and access to a private patient phone line.

    Patients are able to self-schedule via the patient portal in addition to calling or texting. Most in-office visits are 60-90 minutes, allowing time for thorough discussion and examination.

    Virtual visits via telemedicine are available for convenience.

    Even quick concerns can be addressed through secure messaging or phone calls—whatever works best for you and your situation.

  • No. In order to provide same-day and urgent access to our members, we reserve appointment availability exclusively for enrolled patients. The practice is built on developing long-lasting, trusting relationships where Dr. Martin understands your complete health history and can provide truly individualized care—something that’s not possible with one-time visits. However, the cost of monthly membership is comparable to or less than the cost of multiple urgent care visits.

  • Schedule a free consultation to learn more about the practice, meet Dr. Martin, and discuss whether Direct Primary Care is the right fit for you and your family. You can send a message online at bainbridgedirectprimarycare.com/contact or leave a message/send a text to 206-309-5302.

  • Our clinic is located at 213 Madison Avenue North, Suite 200, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110.

    Office hours are by appointment only; members are given a direct patient booking link, patient portal and access to a private patient phone line.

    Dr. Martin is available to members for after-hours urgent medical concerns via phone or secure messaging.