Bridge DPC Blog.

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The essential element of a quality partnership is the mutually beneficial nature of that partnership. Our current healthcare system is far from that. Patients feel slighted: they are often treated as a number or corporate metric instead of a person; they are rushed through visits, have limited access to their personal doctor, and often avoid seeking out care. This is largely due to corporate leadership pushing doctors to see as many patients as possible so that they can meet their bottom line.


Grassroots direct primary care practices are often small businesses owned and operated solely by a local physician with a vested interest in helping a community thrive. These practices cut out the middle-men (insurance, hospital administration) and give power back to the patient. By cutting out the middleman, precious time and resources are re-distributed to strengthening the patient doctor relationship. The power of developing a foundational relationship is realized in unlimited visits with your doctor, appointments without time limits and results in appointments that are not rushed, easy communication with your doc, and ultimately the peace of mind knowing that you always have an advocate that will fight for you in our unnecessarily complex, wasteful healthcare system. 


Direct primary care has a truly unlimited number of benefits for the patients (and thereby their doctors) who decide to embark on this journey; doctors and patients equally benefit from spending more time with each other. With more time, doctors can get to know each of their patients on a deep level and by learning their history, can get to the root cause of a problem and treat the whole person, instead of putting band-aids on issues. With more time, doctors do not have to be rushed to come up with quick treatment plans; deep thought can be put into each problem, research and literature searches can be done, long education with dedicated follow-up can be provided to the patient, problems can actually be SOLVED. With more time, doctors get to develop real, trusting, long-lasting, and caring relationships with their patients.  

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I hope you consider joining Bridge DPC or any other direct primary care practice in the country as we take baby steps to evolve healthcare, one patient at a time. Thank you for joining me in this journey, and I hope that I can be a steady pillar of support in the community of B.I. and North Kitsap County, and eventually, with advocacy, leave ripple effects on the American medical system as a whole.

Some books/resources to explore to learn more about DPC:
- Direct Primary Care: The Cure for Our Broken Healthcare System. Dr. Paul Thomas. 
​- What is DPC

Payton Skawinski, MD
Bridge DPC 
Bainbridge Island - Evolving the Patient Doctor Relationship
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Health insurance, the way Americans have come to use it, is NOT cost effective. Average monthly premiums for a 50 year old in Kitsap County are ~$300 higher (for a "low deductible plan"). How many months are you deriving any benefit from that large price tag? 
Luckily, there are other options:
- Pair a "high deductible" Plan with a Direct Primary Care Doctor
        - High Deductible Insurance: ~$300 less per month for a high deductible plan 50 year old in Kitsap county as compared to a low deductible, high premium plan
         Plus
        - DPC: Monthly subscription for in a Direct Primary Care Practice
--------> With this combination of services, you actually save money, are protected against emergencies/hospitalization AND you add in direct primary care. In DPC, you will build a relationship with a doctor fiercely devoted to your well-being;  instead of having a passive relationship with your PCP, you have someone who will give you all the time you need, schedule appointments to be seen immediately, and someone who will advocate for you in all phases of life. This advocacy will look different for everyone but can resemble a fitness coach, nutritionist, life coach, counselor - all intense passions of mine.

Perhaps my favorite form of patient advocacy and one I feel is so important - based on family experiences - is being an advocate/second opinion when patient's see another provider or specialist and especially when patient's are hospitalized. Physicians in the traditional hospital based/corporate medical system are BUSY and they often do not have the energy or time to check their work or dive deep into every single patient's problems. And that's where I come in! I will serve as somewhat of a liaison between you and other doctors, working as a team to solve your problems and come up with the best possible treatment and follow-up plan. 

Thank you for reading! Call or text me at 425-739-5302 if you want to discuss further; I am on a mission to improve our healthcare system one patient, medical student, and healthcare worker at a time and LOVE talking about how we can do that as a community.

Payton Skawinski, MD
Bridge DPC
Bainbridge Island Primary Care Doctor
425-739-5302
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Source: 
https://www.insurance.wa.gov/sites/default/files/documents/premera-blue-cross-rates-2022.pdf 
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Bridge DPC is a relic of a past generation's patient-doctor relationship. By removing the barriers (and costs) of dealing with insurance and all administrative costs - including the costs of paying hospital CEOs millions of dollars - we are able to give power back to the patient.


This power is realized in multiple avenues:

- With a DPC doc, you have instant access to your personal doctor, through text, calling, video visits, and home visits. No more calling a clinic, leaving a message and being called back by a doc, NP, or PA who is NOT your primary and knows nothing about you.

- Appointments are as long as you would like. DPC doctors are not required to see 20 patients per day like in traditional primary care practices. We structure our days around our patients and build in flexibility to respond to their needs. A typical visit at Bridge DPC will be anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, the polar opposite of the rushed 5-15 minute visits at traditional offices.

- Same day or next day visits guaranteed with your personal PCP (Dr. S.). There are no long wait times to get in to see your doctor. 

- You will always see Dr. Skawinski. No more disjointed visits with providers you have never met, who haven't the slightest clue of your medical history or what makes you YOU.

Payton Skawinski, MD

Bridge DPC

Bainbridge Island Primary Care Doctor

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My greatest fear in medicine is one of my loved ones getting sick and not receiving quality care. Or worse, receiving inadequate or error-ridden care that causes illness. From this fear - and real life experience witnessing my grandparents, mom, and siblings receiving inadequate care - grew a vision. The product of that vision is Bridge DPC, a grassroots primary care clinic where I devote all of my energy to providing you the care I would give my family.

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Payton Skawinski, MD
Bridge DPC
Bainbridge Island Primary Care Doctor
425-739-5302
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Direct Primary Care, or DPC, is an innovative way of providing primary care - geared towards helping people stay healthier and save money on healthcare. Patients within a DPC practice receive ongoing primary care from their doctor with zero copays, convenient scheduling, wholesale prices on blood tests, and even their doctor's personal cell number. It's like having a doctor in the family.
So how is this possible?
Easy: direct primary care practices cut out middlemen like insurance companies, freeing themselves to provide great care without incurring unnecessary administrative costs. Unlike traditional third party practices that serve the needs of insurance companies, direct primary care serves the patient.
If you're tired of high copays, insane wait times, rushed 8-minute doctor visits, join Dr. Payton Skawinski in his mission to improve the state of American healthcare. 

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Dr. Payton Skawinski, MD

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