August 17, 2025 • 44 mins
In this episode of the My DPC Story Podcast, Dr. Jlyn Pritchard of Thread Health in Spokane, WA, shares her journey nearing three years in Direct Primary Care (DPC). Host Maryal Concepcion and Dr. Pritchard discuss the unique challenges and rewards of running a DPC practice, including the importance of strong values, boundary-setting with patients, and business decision-making rooted in financial transparency. Dr. Pritchard highlights her approach to integrating obesity medicine into her practice through specialized memberships and online educational resources. She also shares advice for new DPC physicians about managing finances, building community, and developing a niche for practice growth. Listeners will gain practical insights on starting, sustaining, and scaling a DPC practice—while staying true to personal and professional values. This episode is perfect for physicians considering or currently in the DPC model who want real-world advice on entrepreneurship, financial planning, and work-life balance in healthcare. For more tips, DPC resources, and Dr. Pritchard’s original episode, visit the MYDPC Story Substack.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
This episode is especiallydedicated to our guest, Dr.
Jalen Pritchard of Thread Healthin Spokane, Washington.
Jalen, I hope you enjoylistening to your Wise Self.
As much as I enjoyed finallymeeting you in person, and for
everyone tuning in, be sure tocheck out our brand new my DPC
story, Substack, where you'llfind an article on building a
business rooted in values, alongwith Dr.
Pritchard's original episode.
(00:20):
Enjoy.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (00:25):
Direct Primary care is an innovative
alternative path toinsurance-driven healthcare.
Typically, a patient pays theirdoctor a low monthly membership
and in return builds a lastingrelationship with their doctor
and has their doctor availableat their fingertip.
Welcome to the My DPC Storypodcast, where each week you
(00:47):
will hear the ever so relatablestories shared by physicians who
have chosen to practice medicinein their individual communities
through the direct primary caremodel.
I'm your host, MarielleConception.
Family, physician, DPC, owner,and former fee for service.
Doctor, I hope you enjoy today'sepisode and come away feeling
inspired about the future ofpatient care direct primary
(01:10):
care.
I'm so excited.
Hi.
Because I met you for the firsttime today.
Oh my gosh.
So Dr.
Jaylen er is almost at her twoyear 30 or three year
anniversary three.
See, it just, oh my gosh.
What is time?
What is time?
I literally just took a pictureof you and Dr.
(01:32):
Jade Norris because I absolutelylove how.
You learned about DBC and thenyou deep dove so,
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (01:41):
so deep, so
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (01:42):
deep.
And one of the things that youhave been able to do, because
you are almost at year three, isthat you have really been,
you've been so intentional withall of your social media posts,
with all of your posts onFacebook.
When I say social media, I meantInstagram, but.
With always taking a check atlike where you are compared to
(02:06):
where you've been.
Yeah.
And I really love that because Idon't freaking remember what
happened on week one.
Nope.
Zero.
Yeah.
And so I would love if you couldbring us back to, the, the
almost three years in.
One of the questions we gottoday was.
What are the biggest challengesand how have you come through
(02:27):
them?
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (02:29):
Yeah.
I think that there's, there's anumber of things I can think of.
I would say I tend to be aclassic over analyzer.
It's my, it's my superpower.
So I, I think it, it would'vebeen a challenge if I wasn't an
over analyzer, but I definitelyhave to see things on paper, on
purpose in black and whitebefore I'll make a decision.
So financially, fiscally.
(02:50):
Business decisions, like theyhave to make sense before I'll
actually dive in.
I don't go by my gut.
And I think that's actuallyhelped.
But it also is a challengebecause there's things that I
see other people doing in theirpractices that I won't do
because I can't do them.
Yeah.
Because they don't make sense onpaper.
Yeah.
I think another thing that hasbeen a good challenge, but it
still is emotionally draining asboundary setting.
(03:13):
I think that this model ofpractice attracts a.
Yeah, repertoire of differentpersonalities.
And so boundary setting can beboth very rewarding and very
difficult, but patients aretrainable.
And that's, I think, importantto remember.
And then I, I think the lastthing is, is maybe just like the
constant perseveration, like I,I've realized I, I tend to be a
very creative person.
(03:33):
I writing is very cathartic tome.
We, we really like to stayactive in our family, and one of
the things that has been achallenge, moving forward is
detaching yourself.
This becomes your baby.
And it's, it is really hard.
I mean, it really is hard tomentally take a break and detach
yourself and not be thinkingabout what's the next thing,
what, what am I doing next?
How am I growing?
How am I numbers?
(03:54):
And not just patient numbers,but you know, financials and,
and the whole kit and caboodleof operating a business.
So that's something I'm stillworking on.
My husband and kids would belike, mom, you're on your phone
too much.
Or Mom, like, where are you?
Hello, you're here.
But you know, you're notmentally here.
But I, I think that those areprobably the things that stand
out.
And I, I do think after talkingwith people here, it's really
(04:15):
interesting to me to see thedifferent strengths that people
have and that they bring to thetable.
Because I think for me, a lot ofthe business decisions have been
very seamless.
I think just the way that Ithink about things.
All the questions I've asked, wewere telling someone earlier
that I literally went on theFacebook group and read to the
very first post.
Like I read almost everycomment, almost every.
(04:35):
My screen time was embarrassingduring that time.
But I, I do think that, I just,the way that I operate and for
other people, for friends that Ihave that are, in this space,
the business decisions are soagonizing because that's just
not how their brain works.
So I do think we all bringdifferent, sort of, features and
strengths to the table when itcomes to our own individual
practices.
Dr, Maryal Concepci (04:53):
Absolutely.
And I think that this justechoes how important it is to
point out that because everybodythinks about.
Medicine differently.
Mm-hmm.
Everyone thinks aboutentrepreneurship differently.
Yeah.
So then when you have physicianentrepreneurship on the table,
yeah.
You're going to experience itdifferently, talk about it
(05:13):
differently, learn about itdifferently.
And so it's so important forpeople to hear that.
Yeah.
Because it's whatever gets youto be comfortable with your next
step.
Yeah.
Or uncomfortable in your nextstep, but you know it's okay
still.
Mm-hmm.
So this brings me to my nextquestion, because I remember.
You had asked but how do I knowit will work?
Because recently there was a DPCthat closed around you.
(05:35):
Yeah.
And I'm wondering, if there wasa, it was at 75% of me feeling
comfortable that I was like, I'mjust gonna try.
Yeah.
What, what was your experiencewith knowing that another person
had closed A DBC around you andyou were on the cusp of opening?
It was scary.
I mean, I, I, I think,
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (05:54):
yeah, it was scary.
And I, I will say, I mean, I.
I think being here and seeingall of the DPC curious people,
there's definitely features ofpersonalities.
Mm-hmm.
Business plans, value sets thatlend themselves more generously
towards success.
And I think now, obviouslyhindsight's 2020, looking back,
(06:16):
I can see that, that that personthat failed didn't have a great
business structure.
Their personality was like a drysponge.
I feel like they, that thepeople that they were
attracting, the niche that theysort of dove into wasn't, it
didn't serve them very well inbusiness.
And so I, I would say, it, itwas super scary to be like, oh
my gosh, what if I fail?
(06:36):
And my husband has been amazing.
He's like, what if you do?
What if you fail?
Tomorrow's a new day, tomorrow'sday when you can start over and
you can go back.
You can always go back.
So I, I think that, again, thisis again, my personality, but
going back to that, like whenyou start.
Solid and you've saved money andinstead of taking out a loan
when you don't make yourself youdon't start from a position that
(06:57):
you're strapped, failurebecomes, it becomes a barricade
and dis a disappointment, but itdoesn't become a life altering.
I can never get over this event.
Yeah.
And so
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (07:07):
important for people to hear that also
because that is part of theimposter syndrome that is
experienced by.
Most of us in this movement.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Is that like you, it's an all ornothing thing.
Mm-hmm.
And it's like we don't giveourselves enough credit for the
things we are so capable of.
Yeah.
The fact that our jobs areliterally, because you and I are
(07:28):
family practice.
Yeah.
We literally have zero idea asto what our patients are going
to say out of their mouths, andyet we can still communicate
with them.
Yep.
That comes with a lot of.
Random experiences that comeswith a lot of failed attempts at
trying to not be awkward.
Mm-hmm.
That comes with so many things.
And when I remember speakingwith Dr.
Gabrielle Williams and sayinggirl, I would work at, the
(07:49):
bakery at a grocery store.
Yeah.
Because anything is better thanfee for service.
Yeah.
And it might not be the sameincome, but it's is that life or
death?
No.
Yeah.
But it is really hard when yourvalue is so whittled down to
what codes you are producing.
And so I really love that youpoint that out.
Yeah, yeah,
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (08:08):
yeah.
Can I say two more things?
Absolutely.
Okay.
I I have two.
I have two.
I have two points more.
I was talking to a group ofresidents a couple weeks ago and
I was like, I, no one told methis when I graduated, and I
don't even think anyone told methis at the beginning of my
journey, because I think whenwe're in this space and people
are like, yay, DPC that'samazing.
There's also a dark side to it,right?
Like there, there's a wholenother side that we really don't
(08:29):
talk about.
And I told this group ofresidents, I was like.
I'm giving you permission fromnow until forever more to take
your life in five yearincrements and to change your
mind.
It's okay, it's okay if you openand you decide five years in
that it's too exhausting and youcan't do it, and you close, like
it's okay.
So that's the first thing.
And then the second thing, andI, I also wish that this was
talked about Maria.
I'll give a talk next year, butI, I really would encourage
(08:53):
people that are just opening toreally.
Do some, I, I mentioned when youinterviewed me the first time
that I did some career coaching.
Mm-hmm.
Yep.
And that what it did for me isit pulled out what my values
were.
Not only as a human, but also asa physician.
Like I realize now, and I cansay so confidently, this is
where my value set lies amazing.
I'm not talking about ethics.
I'm just talking about this iswhat fills my tank.
(09:15):
And when I don't have that valuemet, I feel X, Y, and z.
I feel trapped, I feeldepressed.
I feel, you insert the link.
But I think that one of thethings I would love to see more
is like starting, starting yourpractice, starting your dream,
starting your business with aset of values instead of a
business plan.
Because truthfully, if you knowyour values, I was talking to
(09:36):
John Sanders from Utah, and hewas saying, one of my values is
just really good patient care.
And he's like, I don't mind if Idon't make a whole lot of money.
And that allows him to steer hisbusiness decisions accordingly.
My core value is autonomy.
And so as soon as I get enoughpatients where I start to feel
trapped, I can steer my businessdecision accordingly.
But if you don't know yourvalues and you're just working
(09:56):
off a business plan, all of asudden it's well, what do I do
next?
And you have nothing to fallback on.
And so I sort of wish that likeone of the very first, or sort
of mastermind exercises that wedid here was for all the new
people to say, where are myvalues?
Where do I feel most free?
Where am I most fulfilled?
And you just said, right, thatyou love this podcast.
Like this brings you joy.
And so.
If you didn't have the freedomto practice and continue doing
(10:18):
this, you may feel trapped.
So anyway, I, I guess theencouragement is like for all
the people that are juststarting out, or even just
people who are still going.
Yeah.
To try to continue to redefinewhere those values are and then,
plan your life and your businessaccording to it.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (10:31):
Yeah.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (10:32):
When we talk
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (10:32):
values, I'm wondering whether it's, from
your discussions with your coachor just life in general, being a
mom, et cetera, et cetera, howdo you challenge people to.
Get in touch with their values,especially when it comes to not
devaluing what they're capableof and they're not recognizing.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (10:52):
Mm-hmm.
I think, I don't know if I havea great answer for that, to be
honest.
I mean, I, I think that part ofit is understanding what you're
feeling in the moment.
Mm-hmm.
So, I mean, I, I can use myselfas an example.
I didn't quite, I couldn't putwords to why I hated being
employed.
I, I couldn't put words to why.
I hated, I would show up at theoffice at 7 45 for my first
(11:12):
patient at eight, and then Icouldn't go to the bank.
I couldn't go to the postoffice.
I couldn't pick a sick kid upfrom school.
I couldn't take my dog to thegroomer.
And I, now that I have a wordfor it, I realize that I felt
trapped, right?
I felt trapped at the office.
And that feeling, because Ivalue my autonomy and my ability
to make decisions on my ownwithout someone breathing on my
neck, questioning my judgment.
(11:32):
That, that value is so importantto me.
So as you know, I have a sidegig, right?
I work 0.5 FTE for a telehealthjob that I actually love.
And the reason I love it isbecause I see a patient and
clean a toilet and see a patientand switch the laundry and see a
patient and pick a kid up fromschool.
And it allows me to maintain myautonomy.
And I, I think we're, maybe, I,I mean, at least this is a trend
(11:53):
I've witnessed, is that we'resort of moving away from this,
like purist DPC, this is theonly thing you can do mentality.
And I think a lot of us asphysicians are realizing.
That we need, we need multiplepots on the stove at one time to
make us feel fulfilled indifferent ways.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (12:07):
A hundred percent.
And absolutely physicianentrepreneurship does not mean
you must be a clinician only atall times for the rest of your
life until you dropped deadentrepreneurship.
Yeah, a hundred percent.
Yeah.
And absolutely the, I justtalked with Dr.
Natalie Gentilly, you were therethis morning, physically just
not on camera.
And that is, that is soimportant for people to be okay
with.
(12:28):
That like whatever brings youjoy and value, even if that's
not clinical medicine.
Yeah.
That doesn't make you less of adoctor, doesn't make you less,
that doesn't degrade the factthat you went to school for all
of these years.
Yeah.
And trained in residency andkilled yourself.
Staying awake, eat when you can,pee, when you can, all of that
is still part of you and goeswith you no matter what the heck
you do in the future.
Yeah, yeah.
Even if that's going to sit on abeach.
(12:49):
Right.
Yeah.
You can still empathize with thenext person who you talk with
Yeah.
Because of your experiences.
Yeah, totally.
So I love that.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (12:55):
Totally.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (12:56):
When it comes to values mm-hmm.
You have very much embraced yourpatients and their need for
access to quality, obesitymedicine.
Yeah.
And I'm wondering if you cantell us one about how you
started incorporating that inyour practice.
Mm-hmm.
And also your course.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (13:11):
Oh, yeah.
So I realized very early on inresidency that we were giving
patients terrible advice.
I tell this story, this there, Ihave a patient from residency,
and I so distinctly rememberthis, that she was like grinning
from ear to ear because she'dlost 20 pounds.
And my attending was like, whathave you been eating?
And she was like, fruit Loops.
Like she'd replaced breakfastand lunch with Fruit Loops and
was eating dinner and it was acalorie deficit and she lost
(13:33):
weight.
And we were like, wow.
So great.
Her A1C was terrible, but that'sanother story.
So I I've been doing weightloss.
Weight management medicine since2014 probably.
And then obviously as this spacehas just exploded I do think
that having a niche, whetherit's hormones, functional
medicine, whatever sportsmedicine like you, you name it,
is really helpful in businessgrowth.
(13:53):
So I realized that I was sayingthe same things over and over
again, and I also realized thatmy patients that were looking to
lose weight, were needing a lotof direction.
Sure.
I am maybe a little unique inthe, in the, obesity medicine
space where I really think thisis multifactorial, that this is
not just about prescribing theright diet.
If diets worked, we wouldn't behere a
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (14:12):
hundred percent.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (14:12):
I also think that there's a lot of behavioral
component, there's a lot ofpsychology to this.
We have neuropsychology to proveit.
We have, behavioral psychologyto prove it.
And we can't just prescribemedicines.
We know this.
We can't just prescribe.
Drugs or, or, diet plans becauseif those worked well, then we
wouldn't be in the positionwe're in.
And so I essentially created amembership level that where
(14:33):
patients pay a little bit morefor a temporary period of time
in order to have longer visits,more access.
And then, as an aside to that,I, I, because I didn't wanna say
the same thing over and overagain.
I created two resources, soone's a free, it's called a GLP
Masterclass.
It's free online.
And then I created a 16 weeklike comprehensive online course
where we go through the brainbiology and behavior of weight
(14:55):
management.
There's health coaching includedin it once a week and it's
mostly for accountability, butit's been a huge blessing to
patients because I get to do myjob in prescribing and, sort of
counseling and redirecting.
And then the health coach doesthe job of accountability and
coaching, and the programeducates people so they know not
only why, like what they'resupposed to be doing, but then
(15:16):
also why they're supposed to bedoing those things.
So it's been I mean, it's stillfairly new.
We did a beta group in August orSeptember and then we've had
three cohorts go through sincethen.
But it's a it's something Ithink a lot of maybe more
established business owners canlook into.
If you have a niche where.
You're saying the same thingover and over and over and over
again, and it lends itself wellto teaching.
(15:38):
Because I think patients arehungry to learn and they're
hungry to learn from you becausethey trust you.
Yeah.
And just, the ability, again,this is like multiple pots on
the stove, like creatingresources that are useful for
your patients, useful for thecommunity, and also, fulfilling
for you.
And the, the course is, it's anaside to my practice, but it, it
still is an offering thatanybody can ask this.
You don't have to be my patient.
(15:58):
But it.
It's a resource that, that Ithink is, is great and I would
encourage people that are alsoin practice to like, create the
resources.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (16:05):
Yeah.
We need to share.
I love that.
And I do agree completely thatif you're gonna say things over
and over especially when itcomes to resources like you've
built, that anybody in thecommunity can use.
I just think about it as in thisworld of AI and this world of
who actually knows if thatSociety of America is actually
(16:25):
legit?
Or did somebody just go on Canvaand make a logo?
Yeah.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (16:28):
Yeah.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (16:29):
It is really important to have the
doctor who is the valueproposition.
Yeah.
Who is valued in the communityto also be talking to the
community in ways that they areflat out an expert and, be an
anchor in this chaos that we'reliving in right now.
And so I do think thatespecially being an Anthem major
(16:49):
in undergrad, it's like.
We need connection.
No matter how much AI is outthere, we are gonna need
connection.
Yeah.
And when you actually havesomebody that you can trust,
especially in the healthcarespace of helping you with your
healthcare Yeah.
The level of stress goes down.
Yeah.
And absolutely holistically,stress is related to all the
things.
Right?
All the things.
Yeah.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (17:10):
Yeah.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (17:10):
So just literally by being there for
your patients, that is medicinewithout taking a pill.
Mm-hmm.
If pills and shots are needed,great.
But it's like that's not.
At all what we have to fit intoan eight minute visit any
longer.
Right, right.
And that's amazing.
Yeah.
I'm wondering what are some ofthe comments that you've heard
from your patients?
Because you I think about how alot of people, especially here,
(17:34):
are working on their elevatorpitches.
They're working on like, how doI sell to a patient?
Yeah.
And you have mentioned this,this separate like little
pathway if someone's going tohave more time specifically to
focus on weight management,obesity, medicine.
Mm-hmm.
How do you, how do you talk topatients about that offering and
what have you heard?
(17:55):
Because I'm sure the patientsare like, Dr.
Prichard, you, you just, wheredo I sweat my card?
Yeah.
Because I don't care about whatcaused, I just need you to tell
me how to get help.
Yeah.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (18:04):
No, I, I think that there, I, I think
there's a, I guess I would saythere's a delineation.
I think that, that I'm startingto see a very distinct pattern
in people.
And I think if you're somebodythat's offering multiple things
at your clinic, you're gonnaattract the type of people that
are attracted to those things.
Yeah.
Logically.
And so I, I think I didn't wannamake my membership levels too
(18:24):
complicated.
I didn't wanna offer packagesbecause that's something I have
to track and I wanna be as handsoff as possible.
And so I think that, for themost part, if you can, if you
can add value to what they'regetting and they feel like
they've got a coach and they'vegot check-ins and they've got
guidance.
What's been the most fascinatingis a psychology experiment that,
you have essentially probably40% of my patients that just
(18:47):
sign up and they're like, justgimme drugs.
And then I put them on my bodycomposition scale and I'm like,
you can't have any more drugsbecause you've lost too much
muscle mass.
Or, you're not responding well,or you, what are you eating?
And those are patients that arereally hard to get through.
And I've, I, I don't wanna saythat they're a lost cause.
I never believe that, but I dothink that there's, there's a
boundary that you have to set insaying, you can teach a man to
fish, but you, you can't makehim fish by himself.
(19:09):
And the, the other subset ofpatients is so hungry for
information.
Mm-hmm.
And they're so willing to learnand, and follow.
That I, I think that they, theyreally appreciate more time
that's built in.
They appreciate the number that,that they, they just sign up
and, and I think part of it isbecause it's a fair value.
I haven't overpriced it.
I'm honest and transparent aboutwhat is being offered and the
(19:31):
resources they have available.
And then if they don't use'em,that's on them.
It's not on me.
Yeah.
Did that answer your question?
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (19:37):
It did, and I, I think that one, like to
the point of like, how do youtalk to patients about it, it's
literally like you.
Are transparent, you'reliterally just saying what
you're doing.
It's not like you're putting aglossy cover on it and just
being like, hashtag I won'tfollow up and actually offer
that after you sign up.
It's just a, just a, a funnel toget you in.
Yeah.
And definitely, when it comes tothe 60 40 split, that is so
(20:00):
true.
And I, I really feel that that'show I love my patient panel even
more so than I did in fee forservice.
Because they self-select.
They self-select, yes.
And it's we, we have todefinitely deal with the 40 and
the 60%.
Mm-hmm.
But this leads me to, in termsof like how you're dealing with
boundaries, how have you shoredup your boundaries over time?
(20:23):
And specifically, where wereyour boundaries pushed the most?
Oh my gosh, this is such a hardquestion to answer.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (20:29):
I, I think I still struggle with boundaries
sometimes.
I, as you are probably in thesame position, I think as women,
we tend to attract medicallytraumatized, medically ousted or
mystery patients more than otherpeople.
And so it does, there's, there'sjust people that will push
boundaries.
(20:50):
I think that, again, this isleaning into, because I know my
core value is autonomy.
I, when I feel squeezed by them,I am either very transparent and
I say.
I need a break from you.
You are welcome to message me onthe portal.
You are not allowed to text forthe next week, and if you do
text, I will not answer you.
You can get on your computer andmessage me on the portal, and if
(21:11):
they don't respect it, then wehave to have a very frank
conversation about what does thefuture look like for us.
There's other times where, I'llstart to kind of feel like a
vending machine.
And that doesn't feel goodeither.
That doesn't really support mycore value.
I don't think it feels good toanybody regardless of what your
core value is.
But you know, it also, it, it'svery easy for me now to take a
step back.
Again, this goes back to youhave to know where your values
(21:33):
are, because if you don't, Ithink those are the most unhappy
people in DPC.
Like I, I absolutely think that,and maybe in clinical practice,
to be honest, but DPC allows youthe flexibility to say.
I'm not prescribing thatmedication.
Don't let the door hit you onthe way out if you would like to
leave.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (21:48):
Yeah, I think it's so true, and I think
that the reason I really, reallyagree with that right off the
bat is because even if your DBCis not where you want it to be,
if you don't have it the wholetime in alignment with your
values, or if it's not trackingback to your values, it's a lot
easier to give up.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (22:08):
Mm-hmm.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (22:08):
And again, if that's your journey,
great.
But it's if you are in it withyour values.
You, yes, it's a lot of work,but it still makes you happier
than fee for service.
It does.
It still makes you so excited.
But like, know, you could makeSNY remarks about oh my God,
they literally sent me 45messages.
But then you're like, but yes, Ido recognize that.
(22:28):
Like I changed your life.
Yeah.
And like I'm a good doctor.
Yep.
But it just really is annoyingsometimes.
Yeah.
And that's okay.
But it's also what.
What makes you so proud of whatyou do is absolutely tied to
your values.
And if you don't have that prideand value tied, it is more
challenging to just stick withit.
Mm-hmm.
So sticking with it is reallytough sometimes for people when
(22:50):
it comes to like, where's themoney to pay the bills.
Yes.
And so I know this is like yourjam.
Yeah.
And so I would love if you couldtalk to us about what your
thoughts are when it comes tofinancing, especially for people
who are.
Newer on.
Yep.
And they, they're in the firstthree years and they're like,
but day,
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (23:12):
get to my money.
That's a hard thing.
I, I will, I will preface thiswith, I think I've been very
lucky.
Yeah.
I think that I landed at theright time, at the right place
in the right niche.
I've been, hormones are all therage right now, and I always
have to laugh when people arelike, oh my gosh, I'm taking
this.
I'm like, oh, welcome to thisworld.
I mean, I've been, I think maybeI told you this, I got written
(23:32):
up in residency Oh, I know.
For prescribing hormones.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (23:34):
I've mentioned that on a podcast.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (23:36):
And so, and I know exactly, I know exactly
the attending that did it too.
So I I think that the financialsare, they're hard, they're hard
to talk about.
Especially in places like theDPC summit,'cause you can't talk
numbers very, very freely.
But I do think that there's afew things that have helped, and
I would say that, again, thisgoes back to your values.
So, I think everyone that opens,I don't think you need a
(23:59):
business plan, but you need apro forma so mm-hmm.
Get your Excel, get your Exceldance on, and plug in all of
your expenses and all of yournumbers and see if the numbers
crunch.
It's gonna be hard to take homemoney if you have less than 60
to 80 patients, regardless ofhow high your overhead is or how
low I guess your overhead is.
I think that we probably, ifyou're used to a fee for service
(24:20):
clinic, you're gonna naturallyoverbuy.
I literally think the first likesix to eight weeks, I used six
band-aids, my stethoscope, maybea tongue depressor, one piece of
gauze and a exam table, like Ithink legitimately.
I could have had the, mycupboards completely empty and
no one would've been any in ablood pressure cuff.
I guess I left that out, like noone would've been wiser.
(24:42):
Like they, they would've neverknown that I had empty
cupboards.
And then I, I think we also get,I don't know why this happens.
I'm not naturally, I'm not animpulse buyer naturally.
And so I've also talked to anumber of people that are like,
I bought a laser.
I bought a facial machine.
I bought a TMS machine.
I bought, an InBody scale andyou're buying them way too soon.
I, we, my husband and I are veryvery strong budgeters.
(25:07):
Like we run a zero based budget.
Yes you are.
You had raspberries
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (25:10):
mentioned before.
Oh my God.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (25:12):
So we've relaxed a little bit since we're
doing fine.
But I do think that if you can'tmanage your home finances, it is
gonna be dang hard for you tomanage business finances,
particularly if you don't havesome accountability.
And just having somebody say,Hey, you don't need that
machine.
I think there's big dreams thatget in the way, and again, this
(25:32):
is why my process is that I haveto see it on paper, on purpose
in black and white, and thenumbers have to make sense and
be in the black before I willmake, I broke Prior to coming, I
broke two blood pressure cuffsbefore I came the whatever fgo.
And I'm like, well, shoot, Ihave to buy two more blood
pressure cuffs.
And so I was on Excel todayearlier like plugging in the
(25:55):
numbers to make sure that Iwasn't buying other supplies
this month and that I, myinventory was good and I might
have to buy one now and buy onein four months.
And it's a blood pressure cuff,it's not a laser machine.
So I think that that would be myadvice is just, people's loans
are terrible and.
We worked super hard to pay oursoff like we did not, there was
no, the loan forgiveness,nothing, which I understand not
(26:16):
everybody can do.
But I, I just, I think that thebiggest, the biggest concern
that I have in talking to somepeople is if you can't manage
your own money, you're not gonnabe able to manage the
businesses.
Yeah.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (26:28):
It's definitely like you're jumping
into this pool ofentrepreneurship and.
Knowing your numbers is so, soimportant.
So important.
Yeah.
I just finished the 10 GoldmanSachs 10,000 Small Businesses
program.
Yeah, everybody should do it.
Everybody has to be in two yearsinto business and then they can
apply.
But everyone who's thatincluding you should do it.
It's amazing.
That's awesome.
But that is like one of the corethings is that you have to know
(26:51):
your numbers.
Yeah.
I am not as organized as you,and I literally was like.
La la, la Fifi, blah, blah,blah.
Fifi, I cannot understand whatyou're saying.
I choose not to listen, and I'vedefinitely gotten help.
But my question to you is, ifsomebody is ostrich head in the
sand like myself, how do youthen, get your head out of the
(27:13):
sand?
Because I think that there'sdifferent ways forgiving
yourself is one thing.
Yeah.
Starting wherever you're at,leaning on friends, but what
suggestions do you have forpeople who are like, home
finances?
Black or red?
Yeah.
Like What are we gonna do nextmonth?
Dunno.
But it's, it is still black orred.
To be more granular becausesomebody like Dr.
Jeanne Rodham is very much likeyou.
(27:34):
She's like, oh no, I know.
To the Penn.
Yeah.
Like maybe within three pennies,how much am I owing for my
business?
Yeah.
And getting from my business.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (27:42):
Yes.
Yeah.
I think that you have to havethe bandwidth, right?
Like you have to have thebandwidth.
I think one of the biggestthings is being able to tell
yourself.
No, I mean, and I, I actually,this is a ridiculous story, but
I bought a new like, travelcosmetic case.
Like ones that hang on the towelhook.
When I was pregnant with oursecond child, she just, she's
11.
Okay.
(28:03):
And I remember, so noticing Iwas very pregnant'cause I was
like, I need something new totake to the hospital.
And I remember standing in thetarget aisle and I was like,
this is$17.
Like I can't spend this moneybecause we were mid loan
repayment.
Like it was not, it was no onthe zero base budget that I was
gonna spend$17 and I just gotrid of it.
Like I just got a new Wow.
(28:24):
A new cosmetic case.
And I think that just being ableto tell yourself, you can't buy
that.
You cannot afford that.
And I don't know, I come from avery like conservative
traditional background wherethat was what I was taught.
And I don't know, everyindividual is different and
where we're at, but like Iliterally, oh, I didn't eat it
today.
Dang it.
I should have, I literallybrought a foldable Tupperware
container to take leftovers homefrom restaurants so I could eat
(28:45):
them the following day for thethis, this is extreme, Mariel,
but I do think that for peoplewho are just naive to it, like
you just have to, even withpersonal finance, like you just
have to start tracking whatyou're spending.
And I think it's so easy to put,to get the, put the cart before
the horse, right?
And say, oh my gosh, I have thisbusiness and I'm gonna take out
these loans.
I'm gonna take out a creditcard, and I'm, gonna do all
these things.
And it just.
It will bite you every time.
(29:06):
It will bite you.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (29:07):
Just speaking from my own experience,
that is a huge thing to juststart.
Mm-hmm.
It's okay if you know nothingabout stuff.
'cause I went from, I remembervery vividly every single month
I would get my at t bill atmedical school and my habit was
to staple.
I like, ha oh, it was sobeautiful.
Like 12 months in one packet andI stapled that stuff together.
(29:28):
It was so gratifying, soorganized, so gratifying.
Yes.
Then I got married.
Yeah.
And I'm like.
I don't do money.
And then I'm like, oh God, now Ihave a business.
And so I was like, well, I justrested on my laurels of my
husband will figure it out.
Yeah.
But then my husband is herewriting on paper with a pen and
I'm like, okay, there'ssomething wrong with this
situation who is not working?
No one can translate this.
(29:49):
And no one is vetting that thisis right, that you, you charged
my account the, the cost.
And that's a mutual purchase.
And I would argue that that'salways a mutual purchase.
So.
Knowing that like you'dliterally today, today is
different than tomorrow.
Yeah.
Is so important.
Yeah.
But I, I do think that there'sso many tools out there.
(30:10):
Yeah.
Especially when you talk aboutproforma.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (30:11):
Yes.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (30:12):
It's so important and I love that
because the proforma is verydifferent than making sure you
know, every single charge.
Right?
Yes.
And it's much more, it's muchmore lenient for that person
who's stressed about I don't.
I don't look at numbers, I justlook at color.
Red or black.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (30:29):
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's hard.
I mean, I think, I think lots ofpeople are super intimidated by
it, and I, I think there's, isit Amy Otic, I think?
Yeah.
Yeah.
I connected with her reallybriefly, but I think they do
like Dave Ramsey, Dave Ramsey,the bill, the,
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (30:42):
the bell.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (30:43):
Yeah.
And I, I think if you, we made acommitment from the beginning,
like we would run a debt-freebusiness.
Mm-hmm.
And so I am very risk averse.
Like I, I will not take outdebt.
And I understand that's aprivileged place to be.
But I also think that we, wehave a tendency because of what
we see and what we train with,that we overestimate what we
need and what's gonna happenand, what are we gonna be able
to do.
I mean, even yesterday, this isa perfect example, is I was
(31:04):
talking to somebody and theywere like, I'm gonna draw labs.
And I was like, oh, great.
I mean, I love it when peopledraw labs.
Are you gonna have staff?
And she was like, well, no, it'sgonna be me.
And I'm like, are you gonna showup at 7:00 AM for fasting AM
insulin and cortisol levels?
I'm not doing that.
And so, I think just thepractical aspect of being like,
oh, I, I didn't really thinkabout that aspect of that, and
again, downfall, like it's, it'sto a fault that I like, put
(31:25):
something on the table and I'mlike, oh, what does it look like
from this angle and this angleand this angle, but.
I do think that it is incrediblyhelpful for financial decisions
because there's, there's noquestion at the end if I'm gonna
buy it, it's a good deal and I'mgonna buy it.
Yeah.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (31:38):
I love that.
When it comes to you mentioningthese examples, which I love, I.
It, it warms my heart whenyou're like, oh, like I'm
walking my dog and it's Sundayand I'm listening to my, I do
every Sunday.
Every Sunday morning.
Yes, I know.
And I love it.
It makes my heart, I know thatat least Dr.
Jalen Pritchard is listeningTrue to the Mind DBC two
podcast.
(31:58):
But I, I'm wondering in terms oflike community, because you are
a solo doc, you have a virtualassistant now.
Yeah.
But how, how important iscommunity?
And I get everybody's different.
I get that.
Yeah.
But how important is communityand how do you.
Maintain community.
Yeah.
Because this movement isgrowing.
It's, and there's always gonnabe people who opened around the
(32:19):
same time at the same year asyou.
Yeah.
But there's always gonna be newpeople and there's always gonna
be people who are going to belooking to retire.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (32:25):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I think on a professional level,we have a great community of DPC
in Spokane.
There's probably seven.
I actually just got a text.
I think there's nine people onthe thread.
Amazing.
I know.
So we're growing, we, I sort oforganize meetings every quarter,
every two to three months.
We give community updates wherewe're at in practices, how we
can help each other renewresources.
(32:45):
We have a newly open sportsmedicine cash pay practice.
There's rheumatologist that'sopening a cash pay practice.
So we're sort of trying tofigure out what the next step is
as far as making ourselvesofficial.
And then I, I really have loveda lot of the specialists.
I talked to an ophthalmologist,I talked to gi and they're like,
oh my gosh, I'm so glad you'redoing this.
'cause they know they can getahold of us, right?
Yeah.
And that community's growing Ithink from a.
(33:07):
A larger perspective.
It's, I, I'll be honest, being abusiness owner and it's probably
the age that I'm at, but likeevery new female patient that
comes in, I'm like, Ugh, Iwanted to be your friend.
I would totally be your friend.
And so it's been, it's hard whenyou run a practice like this
that, I, I would like to thinkhas a good reputation.
And I have friends of friends offriends and friends that, that
(33:29):
it is easy to feel.
Like you're on an island.
And I think for my husband andI, like we, we, we've always in
the past prioritized community,but with the stages of our kids
and the practice and my side gigand my husband works full time,
we have five acres.
It's hard it's, it's hard tomaintain the community.
And I mean, I would, I wouldlove you to answer that question
(33:49):
too, since you're like anenergizer bunny.
Just constantly, your hands arein everything.
But I, I, I don't, I thinkespecially from a business
perspective, yeah.
You just have to be willing toask questions.
Totally.
And I think the most successfulpeople that aren't in these big
communities are actually theones that overanalyze
everything.
I talked to a friend of minewho's about two and a half hours
(34:09):
south of us, and I asked herbefore she opened, I was like,
how did you do this?
She goes, well, we have a backupplan to the backup plan, to the
backup plan.
And I was like, oh, that's mybrain.
That is what I do.
But she's been incrediblysuccessful because.
She's able to map things outwithout saying, oh my gosh, what
are you doing?
So I don't totally,
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (34:24):
I would say that my answer to community
is, it's just like how you'retalking about, you have your
niche and you lean into it.
If it's something teachable thatyou can do, fantastic.
Just don't keep saying it.
Just put it down in somethingthat is, accessible and
shareable.
When I find those people who arelike, you're really good at PRP,
(34:46):
you're really good ataesthetics.
Yeah.
You're really good at I, Idon't, it's I, I laugh because
it's instead of Liam Neesonsaying, I have skills, it's like
I have people.
Yeah.
So it's like I know that I'mnever, especially being rural.
Mm-hmm.
I have been very comfortablesince medical school that like
you are never alone.
(35:06):
Mm-hmm.
You might be alone in the officethat day'cause there ain't
anybody there.
'cause nobody waits in thewaiting room.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But when it comes to, as you'retalking about this
rheumatologist and the sportsmedicine doctor, I know that
those people are always thereand, and this movement is
growing so much that it's likethere are more people that I can
turn to.
Yeah.
For example.
A doctor colleague of ours inDPC needed a specialist for
(35:30):
their kid.
Mm-hmm.
And I'm like, I don't know, butI know who to ask.
Yeah.
And sure as heck, yeah.
I got the name of the personthat that person needs to take
their kid to.
Yeah.
And this is, this is DPC.
Yeah.
And we literally get to be paidfor this.
Yeah.
And yes, boundaries in terms oflike, how much time are you
spending on that?
But at the same time, it's tome, community is recognizing
(35:51):
that I'm not alone in this.
Yeah.
Even if there's no one else wholives in Arnold, California.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But who should come be a newphysician, Arnold,
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (35:59):
California, and be my friend.
And you know what else I loveabout community is like I have a
fairly physician heavy panel.
Yeah.
Like I take care of a lot ofdoctors and I got these results
back.
I had a, a non-verbal child withautism who had a dental
procedure.
So we're like, do everything, dovaccines, do labs right when
he's under sedation.
And so I got these labs back andI was like.
Oh my gosh, they were soabnormal.
(36:21):
Wow.
And I, looking at them, I waslike, I'm pretty sure he's just
dehydrated.
Yeah.
So I texted mom and I'm like,Hey, how long had you eaten and
drank it?
Whatever.
And she was like, what?
And I just could not sleep.
I couldn't sleep.
And so I have a patient that's apediatric hematologist and I
texted her and I was like, can Iask you a, can I ask you a
question?
She's oh my gosh, yes.
I have a patient.
That is a, it's a radiologist,like a specialty radiologist.
(36:42):
And I text her all the time.
I'm like, Hey, I have a patientwith a breast cyst.
Can you get them in?
And it just, it's such a giftbecause they appreciate you and
they appreciate the care youprovide, and they appreciate the
referrals that you're sendingthem and they, they wanna repay
you.
And that's their gift back.
It's just, it's like this puppyfamily.
Like
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (36:58):
it's a lovely circle.
It totally is.
And I think that it also feedsinto community.
Mm-hmm.
Because it's just when socialmedia can be so.
Ugh.
Malignant and nasty and all thisstuff.
Yeah.
When you see the opposite ofthat, the people are like, I
don't know you, but like Ioverheard you and this might
help you if I'm not being tooinvasive.
(37:20):
It's and when you know that, ohmy god, there's amazing primary
care doctors out there who arelike actually following up and
calling me and conversing withme about our mutual patient.
Yeah.
What I have found also is thatin terms of growing community,
these people are like.
C Can I do that?
Yeah.
As a specialist.
I'm like, yes you can.
Yes, yes you can.
You can.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So that's amazing.
Awesome.
So what is coming in year three,year four, year.
(37:43):
Once Don, you skip a few untilyou're done.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (37:45):
I know.
I don't know yet.
Actually that was, I kind ofcame here and I'm like, man, I'm
really hoping to try to figureout the next step.
So actually just last night Iwas up until 1230 adjusting my
website from in like schedule aninquiry call to join our wait
list.
So that's one big step.
I think I'm gonna continue topromote the course.
It's called Lose Better.
You can lose-better.com.
I'm gonna continue to promotethe course just'cause I think
(38:06):
it's needed in this space.
Yes.
And then I need to decide ifwe're gonna grow.
Like I need to decide.
I really I love my va.
She's amazing.
I think that I don't have agreat set of admin management
skills for staff that need lotsof hands-on touches.
So I need to figure out if I'mgonna hire.
Another physician.
Mm-hmm.
Or a nurse practitioner,whoever.
(38:27):
And then there's some communityoutreach stuff that I want to
kind of start.
There's lots of confusion aroundthe menopause space in the
community.
There's a few people that haveopened their doors and are sort
of advertising some things thatI don't necessarily agree with.
So I'm like, how do we face thathead on?
And then, yeah, I think justcontinuing to grow.
It's really amazing to get to aspot where you're like, I'm
(38:48):
good.
Like I'm.
I have my patience.
I'm good.
Is there gonna be attrition?
Of course there's gonna beattrition.
But you know, for the most part,I think if you really show up,
you know your values, you alignyour business with your values,
you provide really good care topeople, and you're empathetic,
people are not gonna leave youlike they truly, truly won't.
Yeah,
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (39:06):
it's, it's so true.
And I think it's gonna be evenmore.
A parent when in the next coupleof years people will lose their
healthcare somewhere another bypeople not accepting their
Medi-Cal or Medicaid.
Yeah.
By people not having Medi-Cal orMedicaid.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (39:21):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (39:22):
And I literally have been telling my
entire family like, you betterget yourself a DPC doctor before
we're all full.
We're, yeah.
Like literally that's just ablack and white fact.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I found someone here for mycousin in, in Arizona.
'cause I'm like, here, here'syour GBC doctor.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (39:37):
Yeah.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (39:38):
You like pay now and argue with me later.
Yeah.
Because I, I think that that isso important for for us to
recognize that so many peopleneed and want what we're doing.
Yeah.
So I think that, as you put yourwebsite to wait list mm-hmm.
I like, I mean, you've alwaysdone what's right for you.
You've always worked until youfind an answer that's
(40:00):
comfortable for you.
So it's like I know that you'llknow what, what is the next step
for you?
Next step.
Yeah.
But I love that you're incommunity right now and I'm so
excited to meet you in prison.
I know.
Because like literally, this iswhere if you are not sure what
the heck to do, just like vomiton somebody else.
Not physically Yeah.
But like vomit all the ideas andthen just like you have, you're
(40:21):
like, you don't need a lasertoday.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And because we can't see pastthe end of our noses sometimes.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And that's okay.
It's okay.
It's okay.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, I am super excited foryou, whatever the future brings.
Thank
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (40:34):
you.
Yeah, it's a, it's such a giftthat you've given this community
to just keep asking goodquestions and hearing people's
stories.
And I think the stories are likethe best part of this, right?
Absolutely.
'cause everybody, you can, youcan hold them up next to each
other and go where, what, whatfits me?
And you know, you say it all thetime, like if you've seen one,
you've seen one.
And there's no right or wrong.
I mean, there's plenty of wrongways to do this, but there's no
(40:56):
right way to do this.
And I think that it can workfor.
Anyone, anywhere.
Again, as long as you align withyour values, I'm gonna be
preaching that until I'm 90.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (41:05):
That's your pitch next year for a talk.
That's my pitch.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (41:07):
There you go.
Let me know if people wanna hearit.
Keynote.
Keynote.
Hashtag
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (41:09):
keynote.
I love that.
Well, thank you so much.
I look forward to Thank you.
What the future holds, and I'mso excited again to meet you in
person.
Thank you.
Thank you for listening toanother episode of my DBC story.
If you enjoyed it, please leavea five star review on your
favorite podcast platform.
It helps others find the show,have a question about direct
primary care.
(41:30):
Leave me a voicemail.
You might hear it answered in afuture episode.
Follow us on socials at thehandle at my D DPC story and
join DPC didactics our monthlydeep dive into your questions
and challenges.
Links are@mydpcstory.com forexclusive content you won't hear
anywhere else.
Join our Patreon.
Find the link in the show notesor search for my DPC story on
(41:50):
patreon.com for DPC news on thedaily.
Check out DPC news.com.
Until next week, this isMarielle conception.
This episode is especiallydedicated to our guest, Dr.
Jalen Pritchard of Thread Healthin Spokane, Washington.
Jalen, I hope you enjoylistening to your Wise Self.
As much as I enjoyed finallymeeting you in person, and for
everyone tuning in, be sure tocheck out our brand new my DPC
story, Substack, where you'llfind an article on building a
business rooted in values, alongwith Dr.
Pritchard's original episode.
(00:20):
Enjoy.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (00:25):
Direct Primary care is an innovative
alternative path toinsurance-driven healthcare.
Typically, a patient pays theirdoctor a low monthly membership
and in return builds a lastingrelationship with their doctor
and has their doctor availableat their fingertip.
Welcome to the My DPC Storypodcast, where each week you
(00:47):
will hear the ever so relatablestories shared by physicians who
have chosen to practice medicinein their individual communities
through the direct primary caremodel.
I'm your host, MarielleConception.
Family, physician, DPC, owner,and former fee for service.
Doctor, I hope you enjoy today'sepisode and come away feeling
inspired about the future ofpatient care direct primary
(01:10):
care.
I'm so excited.
Hi.
Because I met you for the firsttime today.
Oh my gosh.
So Dr.
Jaylen er is almost at her twoyear 30 or three year
anniversary three.
See, it just, oh my gosh.
What is time?
What is time?
I literally just took a pictureof you and Dr.
(01:32):
Jade Norris because I absolutelylove how.
You learned about DBC and thenyou deep dove so,
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (01:41):
so deep, so
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (01:42):
deep.
And one of the things that youhave been able to do, because
you are almost at year three, isthat you have really been,
you've been so intentional withall of your social media posts,
with all of your posts onFacebook.
When I say social media, I meantInstagram, but.
With always taking a check atlike where you are compared to
(02:06):
where you've been.
Yeah.
And I really love that because Idon't freaking remember what
happened on week one.
Nope.
Zero.
Yeah.
And so I would love if you couldbring us back to, the, the
almost three years in.
One of the questions we gottoday was.
What are the biggest challengesand how have you come through
(02:27):
them?
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (02:29):
Yeah.
I think that there's, there's anumber of things I can think of.
I would say I tend to be aclassic over analyzer.
It's my, it's my superpower.
So I, I think it, it would'vebeen a challenge if I wasn't an
over analyzer, but I definitelyhave to see things on paper, on
purpose in black and whitebefore I'll make a decision.
So financially, fiscally.
(02:50):
Business decisions, like theyhave to make sense before I'll
actually dive in.
I don't go by my gut.
And I think that's actuallyhelped.
But it also is a challengebecause there's things that I
see other people doing in theirpractices that I won't do
because I can't do them.
Yeah.
Because they don't make sense onpaper.
Yeah.
I think another thing that hasbeen a good challenge, but it
still is emotionally draining asboundary setting.
(03:13):
I think that this model ofpractice attracts a.
Yeah, repertoire of differentpersonalities.
And so boundary setting can beboth very rewarding and very
difficult, but patients aretrainable.
And that's, I think, importantto remember.
And then I, I think the lastthing is, is maybe just like the
constant perseveration, like I,I've realized I, I tend to be a
very creative person.
(03:33):
I writing is very cathartic tome.
We, we really like to stayactive in our family, and one of
the things that has been achallenge, moving forward is
detaching yourself.
This becomes your baby.
And it's, it is really hard.
I mean, it really is hard tomentally take a break and detach
yourself and not be thinkingabout what's the next thing,
what, what am I doing next?
How am I growing?
How am I numbers?
(03:54):
And not just patient numbers,but you know, financials and,
and the whole kit and caboodleof operating a business.
So that's something I'm stillworking on.
My husband and kids would belike, mom, you're on your phone
too much.
Or Mom, like, where are you?
Hello, you're here.
But you know, you're notmentally here.
But I, I think that those areprobably the things that stand
out.
And I, I do think after talkingwith people here, it's really
(04:15):
interesting to me to see thedifferent strengths that people
have and that they bring to thetable.
Because I think for me, a lot ofthe business decisions have been
very seamless.
I think just the way that Ithink about things.
All the questions I've asked, wewere telling someone earlier
that I literally went on theFacebook group and read to the
very first post.
Like I read almost everycomment, almost every.
(04:35):
My screen time was embarrassingduring that time.
But I, I do think that, I just,the way that I operate and for
other people, for friends that Ihave that are, in this space,
the business decisions are soagonizing because that's just
not how their brain works.
So I do think we all bringdifferent, sort of, features and
strengths to the table when itcomes to our own individual
practices.
Dr, Maryal Concepci (04:53):
Absolutely.
And I think that this justechoes how important it is to
point out that because everybodythinks about.
Medicine differently.
Mm-hmm.
Everyone thinks aboutentrepreneurship differently.
Yeah.
So then when you have physicianentrepreneurship on the table,
yeah.
You're going to experience itdifferently, talk about it
(05:13):
differently, learn about itdifferently.
And so it's so important forpeople to hear that.
Yeah.
Because it's whatever gets youto be comfortable with your next
step.
Yeah.
Or uncomfortable in your nextstep, but you know it's okay
still.
Mm-hmm.
So this brings me to my nextquestion, because I remember.
You had asked but how do I knowit will work?
Because recently there was a DPCthat closed around you.
(05:35):
Yeah.
And I'm wondering, if there wasa, it was at 75% of me feeling
comfortable that I was like, I'mjust gonna try.
Yeah.
What, what was your experiencewith knowing that another person
had closed A DBC around you andyou were on the cusp of opening?
It was scary.
I mean, I, I, I think,
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (05:54):
yeah, it was scary.
And I, I will say, I mean, I.
I think being here and seeingall of the DPC curious people,
there's definitely features ofpersonalities.
Mm-hmm.
Business plans, value sets thatlend themselves more generously
towards success.
And I think now, obviouslyhindsight's 2020, looking back,
(06:16):
I can see that, that that personthat failed didn't have a great
business structure.
Their personality was like a drysponge.
I feel like they, that thepeople that they were
attracting, the niche that theysort of dove into wasn't, it
didn't serve them very well inbusiness.
And so I, I would say, it, itwas super scary to be like, oh
my gosh, what if I fail?
(06:36):
And my husband has been amazing.
He's like, what if you do?
What if you fail?
Tomorrow's a new day, tomorrow'sday when you can start over and
you can go back.
You can always go back.
So I, I think that, again, thisis again, my personality, but
going back to that, like whenyou start.
Solid and you've saved money andinstead of taking out a loan
when you don't make yourself youdon't start from a position that
(06:57):
you're strapped, failurebecomes, it becomes a barricade
and dis a disappointment, but itdoesn't become a life altering.
I can never get over this event.
Yeah.
And so
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (07:07):
important for people to hear that also
because that is part of theimposter syndrome that is
experienced by.
Most of us in this movement.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Is that like you, it's an all ornothing thing.
Mm-hmm.
And it's like we don't giveourselves enough credit for the
things we are so capable of.
Yeah.
The fact that our jobs areliterally, because you and I are
(07:28):
family practice.
Yeah.
We literally have zero idea asto what our patients are going
to say out of their mouths, andyet we can still communicate
with them.
Yep.
That comes with a lot of.
Random experiences that comeswith a lot of failed attempts at
trying to not be awkward.
Mm-hmm.
That comes with so many things.
And when I remember speakingwith Dr.
Gabrielle Williams and sayinggirl, I would work at, the
(07:49):
bakery at a grocery store.
Yeah.
Because anything is better thanfee for service.
Yeah.
And it might not be the sameincome, but it's is that life or
death?
No.
Yeah.
But it is really hard when yourvalue is so whittled down to
what codes you are producing.
And so I really love that youpoint that out.
Yeah, yeah,
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (08:08):
yeah.
Can I say two more things?
Absolutely.
Okay.
I I have two.
I have two.
I have two points more.
I was talking to a group ofresidents a couple weeks ago and
I was like, I, no one told methis when I graduated, and I
don't even think anyone told methis at the beginning of my
journey, because I think whenwe're in this space and people
are like, yay, DPC that'samazing.
There's also a dark side to it,right?
Like there, there's a wholenother side that we really don't
(08:29):
talk about.
And I told this group ofresidents, I was like.
I'm giving you permission fromnow until forever more to take
your life in five yearincrements and to change your
mind.
It's okay, it's okay if you openand you decide five years in
that it's too exhausting and youcan't do it, and you close, like
it's okay.
So that's the first thing.
And then the second thing, andI, I also wish that this was
talked about Maria.
I'll give a talk next year, butI, I really would encourage
(08:53):
people that are just opening toreally.
Do some, I, I mentioned when youinterviewed me the first time
that I did some career coaching.
Mm-hmm.
Yep.
And that what it did for me isit pulled out what my values
were.
Not only as a human, but also asa physician.
Like I realize now, and I cansay so confidently, this is
where my value set lies amazing.
I'm not talking about ethics.
I'm just talking about this iswhat fills my tank.
(09:15):
And when I don't have that valuemet, I feel X, Y, and z.
I feel trapped, I feeldepressed.
I feel, you insert the link.
But I think that one of thethings I would love to see more
is like starting, starting yourpractice, starting your dream,
starting your business with aset of values instead of a
business plan.
Because truthfully, if you knowyour values, I was talking to
(09:36):
John Sanders from Utah, and hewas saying, one of my values is
just really good patient care.
And he's like, I don't mind if Idon't make a whole lot of money.
And that allows him to steer hisbusiness decisions accordingly.
My core value is autonomy.
And so as soon as I get enoughpatients where I start to feel
trapped, I can steer my businessdecision accordingly.
But if you don't know yourvalues and you're just working
(09:56):
off a business plan, all of asudden it's well, what do I do
next?
And you have nothing to fallback on.
And so I sort of wish that likeone of the very first, or sort
of mastermind exercises that wedid here was for all the new
people to say, where are myvalues?
Where do I feel most free?
Where am I most fulfilled?
And you just said, right, thatyou love this podcast.
Like this brings you joy.
And so.
If you didn't have the freedomto practice and continue doing
(10:18):
this, you may feel trapped.
So anyway, I, I guess theencouragement is like for all
the people that are juststarting out, or even just
people who are still going.
Yeah.
To try to continue to redefinewhere those values are and then,
plan your life and your businessaccording to it.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (10:31):
Yeah.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (10:32):
When we talk
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (10:32):
values, I'm wondering whether it's, from
your discussions with your coachor just life in general, being a
mom, et cetera, et cetera, howdo you challenge people to.
Get in touch with their values,especially when it comes to not
devaluing what they're capableof and they're not recognizing.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (10:52):
Mm-hmm.
I think, I don't know if I havea great answer for that, to be
honest.
I mean, I, I think that part ofit is understanding what you're
feeling in the moment.
Mm-hmm.
So, I mean, I, I can use myselfas an example.
I didn't quite, I couldn't putwords to why I hated being
employed.
I, I couldn't put words to why.
I hated, I would show up at theoffice at 7 45 for my first
(11:12):
patient at eight, and then Icouldn't go to the bank.
I couldn't go to the postoffice.
I couldn't pick a sick kid upfrom school.
I couldn't take my dog to thegroomer.
And I, now that I have a wordfor it, I realize that I felt
trapped, right?
I felt trapped at the office.
And that feeling, because Ivalue my autonomy and my ability
to make decisions on my ownwithout someone breathing on my
neck, questioning my judgment.
(11:32):
That, that value is so importantto me.
So as you know, I have a sidegig, right?
I work 0.5 FTE for a telehealthjob that I actually love.
And the reason I love it isbecause I see a patient and
clean a toilet and see a patientand switch the laundry and see a
patient and pick a kid up fromschool.
And it allows me to maintain myautonomy.
And I, I think we're, maybe, I,I mean, at least this is a trend
(11:53):
I've witnessed, is that we'resort of moving away from this,
like purist DPC, this is theonly thing you can do mentality.
And I think a lot of us asphysicians are realizing.
That we need, we need multiplepots on the stove at one time to
make us feel fulfilled indifferent ways.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (12:07):
A hundred percent.
And absolutely physicianentrepreneurship does not mean
you must be a clinician only atall times for the rest of your
life until you dropped deadentrepreneurship.
Yeah, a hundred percent.
Yeah.
And absolutely the, I justtalked with Dr.
Natalie Gentilly, you were therethis morning, physically just
not on camera.
And that is, that is soimportant for people to be okay
with.
(12:28):
That like whatever brings youjoy and value, even if that's
not clinical medicine.
Yeah.
That doesn't make you less of adoctor, doesn't make you less,
that doesn't degrade the factthat you went to school for all
of these years.
Yeah.
And trained in residency andkilled yourself.
Staying awake, eat when you can,pee, when you can, all of that
is still part of you and goeswith you no matter what the heck
you do in the future.
Yeah, yeah.
Even if that's going to sit on abeach.
(12:49):
Right.
Yeah.
You can still empathize with thenext person who you talk with
Yeah.
Because of your experiences.
Yeah, totally.
So I love that.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (12:55):
Totally.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (12:56):
When it comes to values mm-hmm.
You have very much embraced yourpatients and their need for
access to quality, obesitymedicine.
Yeah.
And I'm wondering if you cantell us one about how you
started incorporating that inyour practice.
Mm-hmm.
And also your course.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (13:11):
Oh, yeah.
So I realized very early on inresidency that we were giving
patients terrible advice.
I tell this story, this there, Ihave a patient from residency,
and I so distinctly rememberthis, that she was like grinning
from ear to ear because she'dlost 20 pounds.
And my attending was like, whathave you been eating?
And she was like, fruit Loops.
Like she'd replaced breakfastand lunch with Fruit Loops and
was eating dinner and it was acalorie deficit and she lost
(13:33):
weight.
And we were like, wow.
So great.
Her A1C was terrible, but that'sanother story.
So I I've been doing weightloss.
Weight management medicine since2014 probably.
And then obviously as this spacehas just exploded I do think
that having a niche, whetherit's hormones, functional
medicine, whatever sportsmedicine like you, you name it,
is really helpful in businessgrowth.
(13:53):
So I realized that I was sayingthe same things over and over
again, and I also realized thatmy patients that were looking to
lose weight, were needing a lotof direction.
Sure.
I am maybe a little unique inthe, in the, obesity medicine
space where I really think thisis multifactorial, that this is
not just about prescribing theright diet.
If diets worked, we wouldn't behere a
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (14:12):
hundred percent.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (14:12):
I also think that there's a lot of behavioral
component, there's a lot ofpsychology to this.
We have neuropsychology to proveit.
We have, behavioral psychologyto prove it.
And we can't just prescribemedicines.
We know this.
We can't just prescribe.
Drugs or, or, diet plans becauseif those worked well, then we
wouldn't be in the positionwe're in.
And so I essentially created amembership level that where
(14:33):
patients pay a little bit morefor a temporary period of time
in order to have longer visits,more access.
And then, as an aside to that,I, I, because I didn't wanna say
the same thing over and overagain.
I created two resources, soone's a free, it's called a GLP
Masterclass.
It's free online.
And then I created a 16 weeklike comprehensive online course
where we go through the brainbiology and behavior of weight
(14:55):
management.
There's health coaching includedin it once a week and it's
mostly for accountability, butit's been a huge blessing to
patients because I get to do myjob in prescribing and, sort of
counseling and redirecting.
And then the health coach doesthe job of accountability and
coaching, and the programeducates people so they know not
only why, like what they'resupposed to be doing, but then
(15:16):
also why they're supposed to bedoing those things.
So it's been I mean, it's stillfairly new.
We did a beta group in August orSeptember and then we've had
three cohorts go through sincethen.
But it's a it's something Ithink a lot of maybe more
established business owners canlook into.
If you have a niche where.
You're saying the same thingover and over and over and over
again, and it lends itself wellto teaching.
(15:38):
Because I think patients arehungry to learn and they're
hungry to learn from you becausethey trust you.
Yeah.
And just, the ability, again,this is like multiple pots on
the stove, like creatingresources that are useful for
your patients, useful for thecommunity, and also, fulfilling
for you.
And the, the course is, it's anaside to my practice, but it, it
still is an offering thatanybody can ask this.
You don't have to be my patient.
(15:58):
But it.
It's a resource that, that Ithink is, is great and I would
encourage people that are alsoin practice to like, create the
resources.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (16:05):
Yeah.
We need to share.
I love that.
And I do agree completely thatif you're gonna say things over
and over especially when itcomes to resources like you've
built, that anybody in thecommunity can use.
I just think about it as in thisworld of AI and this world of
who actually knows if thatSociety of America is actually
(16:25):
legit?
Or did somebody just go on Canvaand make a logo?
Yeah.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (16:28):
Yeah.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (16:29):
It is really important to have the
doctor who is the valueproposition.
Yeah.
Who is valued in the communityto also be talking to the
community in ways that they areflat out an expert and, be an
anchor in this chaos that we'reliving in right now.
And so I do think thatespecially being an Anthem major
(16:49):
in undergrad, it's like.
We need connection.
No matter how much AI is outthere, we are gonna need
connection.
Yeah.
And when you actually havesomebody that you can trust,
especially in the healthcarespace of helping you with your
healthcare Yeah.
The level of stress goes down.
Yeah.
And absolutely holistically,stress is related to all the
things.
Right?
All the things.
Yeah.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (17:10):
Yeah.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (17:10):
So just literally by being there for
your patients, that is medicinewithout taking a pill.
Mm-hmm.
If pills and shots are needed,great.
But it's like that's not.
At all what we have to fit intoan eight minute visit any
longer.
Right, right.
And that's amazing.
Yeah.
I'm wondering what are some ofthe comments that you've heard
from your patients?
Because you I think about how alot of people, especially here,
(17:34):
are working on their elevatorpitches.
They're working on like, how doI sell to a patient?
Yeah.
And you have mentioned this,this separate like little
pathway if someone's going tohave more time specifically to
focus on weight management,obesity, medicine.
Mm-hmm.
How do you, how do you talk topatients about that offering and
what have you heard?
(17:55):
Because I'm sure the patientsare like, Dr.
Prichard, you, you just, wheredo I sweat my card?
Yeah.
Because I don't care about whatcaused, I just need you to tell
me how to get help.
Yeah.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (18:04):
No, I, I think that there, I, I think
there's a, I guess I would saythere's a delineation.
I think that, that I'm startingto see a very distinct pattern
in people.
And I think if you're somebodythat's offering multiple things
at your clinic, you're gonnaattract the type of people that
are attracted to those things.
Yeah.
Logically.
And so I, I think I didn't wannamake my membership levels too
(18:24):
complicated.
I didn't wanna offer packagesbecause that's something I have
to track and I wanna be as handsoff as possible.
And so I think that, for themost part, if you can, if you
can add value to what they'regetting and they feel like
they've got a coach and they'vegot check-ins and they've got
guidance.
What's been the most fascinatingis a psychology experiment that,
you have essentially probably40% of my patients that just
(18:47):
sign up and they're like, justgimme drugs.
And then I put them on my bodycomposition scale and I'm like,
you can't have any more drugsbecause you've lost too much
muscle mass.
Or, you're not responding well,or you, what are you eating?
And those are patients that arereally hard to get through.
And I've, I, I don't wanna saythat they're a lost cause.
I never believe that, but I dothink that there's, there's a
boundary that you have to set insaying, you can teach a man to
fish, but you, you can't makehim fish by himself.
(19:09):
And the, the other subset ofpatients is so hungry for
information.
Mm-hmm.
And they're so willing to learnand, and follow.
That I, I think that they, theyreally appreciate more time
that's built in.
They appreciate the number that,that they, they just sign up
and, and I think part of it isbecause it's a fair value.
I haven't overpriced it.
I'm honest and transparent aboutwhat is being offered and the
(19:31):
resources they have available.
And then if they don't use'em,that's on them.
It's not on me.
Yeah.
Did that answer your question?
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (19:37):
It did, and I, I think that one, like to
the point of like, how do youtalk to patients about it, it's
literally like you.
Are transparent, you'reliterally just saying what
you're doing.
It's not like you're putting aglossy cover on it and just
being like, hashtag I won'tfollow up and actually offer
that after you sign up.
It's just a, just a, a funnel toget you in.
Yeah.
And definitely, when it comes tothe 60 40 split, that is so
(20:00):
true.
And I, I really feel that that'show I love my patient panel even
more so than I did in fee forservice.
Because they self-select.
They self-select, yes.
And it's we, we have todefinitely deal with the 40 and
the 60%.
Mm-hmm.
But this leads me to, in termsof like how you're dealing with
boundaries, how have you shoredup your boundaries over time?
(20:23):
And specifically, where wereyour boundaries pushed the most?
Oh my gosh, this is such a hardquestion to answer.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (20:29):
I, I think I still struggle with boundaries
sometimes.
I, as you are probably in thesame position, I think as women,
we tend to attract medicallytraumatized, medically ousted or
mystery patients more than otherpeople.
And so it does, there's, there'sjust people that will push
boundaries.
(20:50):
I think that, again, this isleaning into, because I know my
core value is autonomy.
I, when I feel squeezed by them,I am either very transparent and
I say.
I need a break from you.
You are welcome to message me onthe portal.
You are not allowed to text forthe next week, and if you do
text, I will not answer you.
You can get on your computer andmessage me on the portal, and if
(21:11):
they don't respect it, then wehave to have a very frank
conversation about what does thefuture look like for us.
There's other times where, I'llstart to kind of feel like a
vending machine.
And that doesn't feel goodeither.
That doesn't really support mycore value.
I don't think it feels good toanybody regardless of what your
core value is.
But you know, it also, it, it'svery easy for me now to take a
step back.
Again, this goes back to youhave to know where your values
(21:33):
are, because if you don't, Ithink those are the most unhappy
people in DPC.
Like I, I absolutely think that,and maybe in clinical practice,
to be honest, but DPC allows youthe flexibility to say.
I'm not prescribing thatmedication.
Don't let the door hit you onthe way out if you would like to
leave.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (21:48):
Yeah, I think it's so true, and I think
that the reason I really, reallyagree with that right off the
bat is because even if your DBCis not where you want it to be,
if you don't have it the wholetime in alignment with your
values, or if it's not trackingback to your values, it's a lot
easier to give up.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (22:08):
Mm-hmm.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (22:08):
And again, if that's your journey,
great.
But it's if you are in it withyour values.
You, yes, it's a lot of work,but it still makes you happier
than fee for service.
It does.
It still makes you so excited.
But like, know, you could makeSNY remarks about oh my God,
they literally sent me 45messages.
But then you're like, but yes, Ido recognize that.
(22:28):
Like I changed your life.
Yeah.
And like I'm a good doctor.
Yep.
But it just really is annoyingsometimes.
Yeah.
And that's okay.
But it's also what.
What makes you so proud of whatyou do is absolutely tied to
your values.
And if you don't have that prideand value tied, it is more
challenging to just stick withit.
Mm-hmm.
So sticking with it is reallytough sometimes for people when
(22:50):
it comes to like, where's themoney to pay the bills.
Yes.
And so I know this is like yourjam.
Yeah.
And so I would love if you couldtalk to us about what your
thoughts are when it comes tofinancing, especially for people
who are.
Newer on.
Yep.
And they, they're in the firstthree years and they're like,
but day,
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (23:12):
get to my money.
That's a hard thing.
I, I will, I will preface thiswith, I think I've been very
lucky.
Yeah.
I think that I landed at theright time, at the right place
in the right niche.
I've been, hormones are all therage right now, and I always
have to laugh when people arelike, oh my gosh, I'm taking
this.
I'm like, oh, welcome to thisworld.
I mean, I've been, I think maybeI told you this, I got written
(23:32):
up in residency Oh, I know.
For prescribing hormones.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (23:34):
I've mentioned that on a podcast.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (23:36):
And so, and I know exactly, I know exactly
the attending that did it too.
So I I think that the financialsare, they're hard, they're hard
to talk about.
Especially in places like theDPC summit,'cause you can't talk
numbers very, very freely.
But I do think that there's afew things that have helped, and
I would say that, again, thisgoes back to your values.
So, I think everyone that opens,I don't think you need a
(23:59):
business plan, but you need apro forma so mm-hmm.
Get your Excel, get your Exceldance on, and plug in all of
your expenses and all of yournumbers and see if the numbers
crunch.
It's gonna be hard to take homemoney if you have less than 60
to 80 patients, regardless ofhow high your overhead is or how
low I guess your overhead is.
I think that we probably, ifyou're used to a fee for service
(24:20):
clinic, you're gonna naturallyoverbuy.
I literally think the first likesix to eight weeks, I used six
band-aids, my stethoscope, maybea tongue depressor, one piece of
gauze and a exam table, like Ithink legitimately.
I could have had the, mycupboards completely empty and
no one would've been any in ablood pressure cuff.
I guess I left that out, like noone would've been wiser.
(24:42):
Like they, they would've neverknown that I had empty
cupboards.
And then I, I think we also get,I don't know why this happens.
I'm not naturally, I'm not animpulse buyer naturally.
And so I've also talked to anumber of people that are like,
I bought a laser.
I bought a facial machine.
I bought a TMS machine.
I bought, an InBody scale andyou're buying them way too soon.
I, we, my husband and I are veryvery strong budgeters.
(25:07):
Like we run a zero based budget.
Yes you are.
You had raspberries
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (25:10):
mentioned before.
Oh my God.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (25:12):
So we've relaxed a little bit since we're
doing fine.
But I do think that if you can'tmanage your home finances, it is
gonna be dang hard for you tomanage business finances,
particularly if you don't havesome accountability.
And just having somebody say,Hey, you don't need that
machine.
I think there's big dreams thatget in the way, and again, this
(25:32):
is why my process is that I haveto see it on paper, on purpose
in black and white, and thenumbers have to make sense and
be in the black before I willmake, I broke Prior to coming, I
broke two blood pressure cuffsbefore I came the whatever fgo.
And I'm like, well, shoot, Ihave to buy two more blood
pressure cuffs.
And so I was on Excel todayearlier like plugging in the
(25:55):
numbers to make sure that Iwasn't buying other supplies
this month and that I, myinventory was good and I might
have to buy one now and buy onein four months.
And it's a blood pressure cuff,it's not a laser machine.
So I think that that would be myadvice is just, people's loans
are terrible and.
We worked super hard to pay oursoff like we did not, there was
no, the loan forgiveness,nothing, which I understand not
(26:16):
everybody can do.
But I, I just, I think that thebiggest, the biggest concern
that I have in talking to somepeople is if you can't manage
your own money, you're not gonnabe able to manage the
businesses.
Yeah.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (26:28):
It's definitely like you're jumping
into this pool ofentrepreneurship and.
Knowing your numbers is so, soimportant.
So important.
Yeah.
I just finished the 10 GoldmanSachs 10,000 Small Businesses
program.
Yeah, everybody should do it.
Everybody has to be in two yearsinto business and then they can
apply.
But everyone who's thatincluding you should do it.
It's amazing.
That's awesome.
But that is like one of the corethings is that you have to know
(26:51):
your numbers.
Yeah.
I am not as organized as you,and I literally was like.
La la, la Fifi, blah, blah,blah.
Fifi, I cannot understand whatyou're saying.
I choose not to listen, and I'vedefinitely gotten help.
But my question to you is, ifsomebody is ostrich head in the
sand like myself, how do youthen, get your head out of the
(27:13):
sand?
Because I think that there'sdifferent ways forgiving
yourself is one thing.
Yeah.
Starting wherever you're at,leaning on friends, but what
suggestions do you have forpeople who are like, home
finances?
Black or red?
Yeah.
Like What are we gonna do nextmonth?
Dunno.
But it's, it is still black orred.
To be more granular becausesomebody like Dr.
Jeanne Rodham is very much likeyou.
(27:34):
She's like, oh no, I know.
To the Penn.
Yeah.
Like maybe within three pennies,how much am I owing for my
business?
Yeah.
And getting from my business.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (27:42):
Yes.
Yeah.
I think that you have to havethe bandwidth, right?
Like you have to have thebandwidth.
I think one of the biggestthings is being able to tell
yourself.
No, I mean, and I, I actually,this is a ridiculous story, but
I bought a new like, travelcosmetic case.
Like ones that hang on the towelhook.
When I was pregnant with oursecond child, she just, she's
11.
Okay.
(28:03):
And I remember, so noticing Iwas very pregnant'cause I was
like, I need something new totake to the hospital.
And I remember standing in thetarget aisle and I was like,
this is$17.
Like I can't spend this moneybecause we were mid loan
repayment.
Like it was not, it was no onthe zero base budget that I was
gonna spend$17 and I just gotrid of it.
Like I just got a new Wow.
(28:24):
A new cosmetic case.
And I think that just being ableto tell yourself, you can't buy
that.
You cannot afford that.
And I don't know, I come from avery like conservative
traditional background wherethat was what I was taught.
And I don't know, everyindividual is different and
where we're at, but like Iliterally, oh, I didn't eat it
today.
Dang it.
I should have, I literallybrought a foldable Tupperware
container to take leftovers homefrom restaurants so I could eat
(28:45):
them the following day for thethis, this is extreme, Mariel,
but I do think that for peoplewho are just naive to it, like
you just have to, even withpersonal finance, like you just
have to start tracking whatyou're spending.
And I think it's so easy to put,to get the, put the cart before
the horse, right?
And say, oh my gosh, I have thisbusiness and I'm gonna take out
these loans.
I'm gonna take out a creditcard, and I'm, gonna do all
these things.
And it just.
It will bite you every time.
(29:06):
It will bite you.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (29:07):
Just speaking from my own experience,
that is a huge thing to juststart.
Mm-hmm.
It's okay if you know nothingabout stuff.
'cause I went from, I remembervery vividly every single month
I would get my at t bill atmedical school and my habit was
to staple.
I like, ha oh, it was sobeautiful.
Like 12 months in one packet andI stapled that stuff together.
(29:28):
It was so gratifying, soorganized, so gratifying.
Yes.
Then I got married.
Yeah.
And I'm like.
I don't do money.
And then I'm like, oh God, now Ihave a business.
And so I was like, well, I justrested on my laurels of my
husband will figure it out.
Yeah.
But then my husband is herewriting on paper with a pen and
I'm like, okay, there'ssomething wrong with this
situation who is not working?
No one can translate this.
(29:49):
And no one is vetting that thisis right, that you, you charged
my account the, the cost.
And that's a mutual purchase.
And I would argue that that'salways a mutual purchase.
So.
Knowing that like you'dliterally today, today is
different than tomorrow.
Yeah.
Is so important.
Yeah.
But I, I do think that there'sso many tools out there.
(30:10):
Yeah.
Especially when you talk aboutproforma.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (30:11):
Yes.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (30:12):
It's so important and I love that
because the proforma is verydifferent than making sure you
know, every single charge.
Right?
Yes.
And it's much more, it's muchmore lenient for that person
who's stressed about I don't.
I don't look at numbers, I justlook at color.
Red or black.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (30:29):
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's hard.
I mean, I think, I think lots ofpeople are super intimidated by
it, and I, I think there's, isit Amy Otic, I think?
Yeah.
Yeah.
I connected with her reallybriefly, but I think they do
like Dave Ramsey, Dave Ramsey,the bill, the,
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (30:42):
the bell.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (30:43):
Yeah.
And I, I think if you, we made acommitment from the beginning,
like we would run a debt-freebusiness.
Mm-hmm.
And so I am very risk averse.
Like I, I will not take outdebt.
And I understand that's aprivileged place to be.
But I also think that we, wehave a tendency because of what
we see and what we train with,that we overestimate what we
need and what's gonna happenand, what are we gonna be able
to do.
I mean, even yesterday, this isa perfect example, is I was
(31:04):
talking to somebody and theywere like, I'm gonna draw labs.
And I was like, oh, great.
I mean, I love it when peopledraw labs.
Are you gonna have staff?
And she was like, well, no, it'sgonna be me.
And I'm like, are you gonna showup at 7:00 AM for fasting AM
insulin and cortisol levels?
I'm not doing that.
And so, I think just thepractical aspect of being like,
oh, I, I didn't really thinkabout that aspect of that, and
again, downfall, like it's, it'sto a fault that I like, put
(31:25):
something on the table and I'mlike, oh, what does it look like
from this angle and this angleand this angle, but.
I do think that it is incrediblyhelpful for financial decisions
because there's, there's noquestion at the end if I'm gonna
buy it, it's a good deal and I'mgonna buy it.
Yeah.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (31:38):
I love that.
When it comes to you mentioningthese examples, which I love, I.
It, it warms my heart whenyou're like, oh, like I'm
walking my dog and it's Sundayand I'm listening to my, I do
every Sunday.
Every Sunday morning.
Yes, I know.
And I love it.
It makes my heart, I know thatat least Dr.
Jalen Pritchard is listeningTrue to the Mind DBC two
podcast.
(31:58):
But I, I'm wondering in terms oflike community, because you are
a solo doc, you have a virtualassistant now.
Yeah.
But how, how important iscommunity?
And I get everybody's different.
I get that.
Yeah.
But how important is communityand how do you.
Maintain community.
Yeah.
Because this movement isgrowing.
It's, and there's always gonnabe people who opened around the
(32:19):
same time at the same year asyou.
Yeah.
But there's always gonna be newpeople and there's always gonna
be people who are going to belooking to retire.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (32:25):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I think on a professional level,we have a great community of DPC
in Spokane.
There's probably seven.
I actually just got a text.
I think there's nine people onthe thread.
Amazing.
I know.
So we're growing, we, I sort oforganize meetings every quarter,
every two to three months.
We give community updates wherewe're at in practices, how we
can help each other renewresources.
(32:45):
We have a newly open sportsmedicine cash pay practice.
There's rheumatologist that'sopening a cash pay practice.
So we're sort of trying tofigure out what the next step is
as far as making ourselvesofficial.
And then I, I really have loveda lot of the specialists.
I talked to an ophthalmologist,I talked to gi and they're like,
oh my gosh, I'm so glad you'redoing this.
'cause they know they can getahold of us, right?
Yeah.
And that community's growing Ithink from a.
(33:07):
A larger perspective.
It's, I, I'll be honest, being abusiness owner and it's probably
the age that I'm at, but likeevery new female patient that
comes in, I'm like, Ugh, Iwanted to be your friend.
I would totally be your friend.
And so it's been, it's hard whenyou run a practice like this
that, I, I would like to thinkhas a good reputation.
And I have friends of friends offriends and friends that, that
(33:29):
it is easy to feel.
Like you're on an island.
And I think for my husband andI, like we, we, we've always in
the past prioritized community,but with the stages of our kids
and the practice and my side gigand my husband works full time,
we have five acres.
It's hard it's, it's hard tomaintain the community.
And I mean, I would, I wouldlove you to answer that question
(33:49):
too, since you're like anenergizer bunny.
Just constantly, your hands arein everything.
But I, I, I don't, I thinkespecially from a business
perspective, yeah.
You just have to be willing toask questions.
Totally.
And I think the most successfulpeople that aren't in these big
communities are actually theones that overanalyze
everything.
I talked to a friend of minewho's about two and a half hours
(34:09):
south of us, and I asked herbefore she opened, I was like,
how did you do this?
She goes, well, we have a backupplan to the backup plan, to the
backup plan.
And I was like, oh, that's mybrain.
That is what I do.
But she's been incrediblysuccessful because.
She's able to map things outwithout saying, oh my gosh, what
are you doing?
So I don't totally,
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (34:24):
I would say that my answer to community
is, it's just like how you'retalking about, you have your
niche and you lean into it.
If it's something teachable thatyou can do, fantastic.
Just don't keep saying it.
Just put it down in somethingthat is, accessible and
shareable.
When I find those people who arelike, you're really good at PRP,
(34:46):
you're really good ataesthetics.
Yeah.
You're really good at I, Idon't, it's I, I laugh because
it's instead of Liam Neesonsaying, I have skills, it's like
I have people.
Yeah.
So it's like I know that I'mnever, especially being rural.
Mm-hmm.
I have been very comfortablesince medical school that like
you are never alone.
(35:06):
Mm-hmm.
You might be alone in the officethat day'cause there ain't
anybody there.
'cause nobody waits in thewaiting room.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But when it comes to, as you'retalking about this
rheumatologist and the sportsmedicine doctor, I know that
those people are always thereand, and this movement is
growing so much that it's likethere are more people that I can
turn to.
Yeah.
For example.
A doctor colleague of ours inDPC needed a specialist for
(35:30):
their kid.
Mm-hmm.
And I'm like, I don't know, butI know who to ask.
Yeah.
And sure as heck, yeah.
I got the name of the personthat that person needs to take
their kid to.
Yeah.
And this is, this is DPC.
Yeah.
And we literally get to be paidfor this.
Yeah.
And yes, boundaries in terms oflike, how much time are you
spending on that?
But at the same time, it's tome, community is recognizing
(35:51):
that I'm not alone in this.
Yeah.
Even if there's no one else wholives in Arnold, California.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But who should come be a newphysician, Arnold,
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (35:59):
California, and be my friend.
And you know what else I loveabout community is like I have a
fairly physician heavy panel.
Yeah.
Like I take care of a lot ofdoctors and I got these results
back.
I had a, a non-verbal child withautism who had a dental
procedure.
So we're like, do everything, dovaccines, do labs right when
he's under sedation.
And so I got these labs back andI was like.
Oh my gosh, they were soabnormal.
(36:21):
Wow.
And I, looking at them, I waslike, I'm pretty sure he's just
dehydrated.
Yeah.
So I texted mom and I'm like,Hey, how long had you eaten and
drank it?
Whatever.
And she was like, what?
And I just could not sleep.
I couldn't sleep.
And so I have a patient that's apediatric hematologist and I
texted her and I was like, can Iask you a, can I ask you a
question?
She's oh my gosh, yes.
I have a patient.
That is a, it's a radiologist,like a specialty radiologist.
(36:42):
And I text her all the time.
I'm like, Hey, I have a patientwith a breast cyst.
Can you get them in?
And it just, it's such a giftbecause they appreciate you and
they appreciate the care youprovide, and they appreciate the
referrals that you're sendingthem and they, they wanna repay
you.
And that's their gift back.
It's just, it's like this puppyfamily.
Like
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (36:58):
it's a lovely circle.
It totally is.
And I think that it also feedsinto community.
Mm-hmm.
Because it's just when socialmedia can be so.
Ugh.
Malignant and nasty and all thisstuff.
Yeah.
When you see the opposite ofthat, the people are like, I
don't know you, but like Ioverheard you and this might
help you if I'm not being tooinvasive.
(37:20):
It's and when you know that, ohmy god, there's amazing primary
care doctors out there who arelike actually following up and
calling me and conversing withme about our mutual patient.
Yeah.
What I have found also is thatin terms of growing community,
these people are like.
C Can I do that?
Yeah.
As a specialist.
I'm like, yes you can.
Yes, yes you can.
You can.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So that's amazing.
Awesome.
So what is coming in year three,year four, year.
(37:43):
Once Don, you skip a few untilyou're done.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (37:45):
I know.
I don't know yet.
Actually that was, I kind ofcame here and I'm like, man, I'm
really hoping to try to figureout the next step.
So actually just last night Iwas up until 1230 adjusting my
website from in like schedule aninquiry call to join our wait
list.
So that's one big step.
I think I'm gonna continue topromote the course.
It's called Lose Better.
You can lose-better.com.
I'm gonna continue to promotethe course just'cause I think
(38:06):
it's needed in this space.
Yes.
And then I need to decide ifwe're gonna grow.
Like I need to decide.
I really I love my va.
She's amazing.
I think that I don't have agreat set of admin management
skills for staff that need lotsof hands-on touches.
So I need to figure out if I'mgonna hire.
Another physician.
Mm-hmm.
Or a nurse practitioner,whoever.
(38:27):
And then there's some communityoutreach stuff that I want to
kind of start.
There's lots of confusion aroundthe menopause space in the
community.
There's a few people that haveopened their doors and are sort
of advertising some things thatI don't necessarily agree with.
So I'm like, how do we face thathead on?
And then, yeah, I think justcontinuing to grow.
It's really amazing to get to aspot where you're like, I'm
(38:48):
good.
Like I'm.
I have my patience.
I'm good.
Is there gonna be attrition?
Of course there's gonna beattrition.
But you know, for the most part,I think if you really show up,
you know your values, you alignyour business with your values,
you provide really good care topeople, and you're empathetic,
people are not gonna leave youlike they truly, truly won't.
Yeah,
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (39:06):
it's, it's so true.
And I think it's gonna be evenmore.
A parent when in the next coupleof years people will lose their
healthcare somewhere another bypeople not accepting their
Medi-Cal or Medicaid.
Yeah.
By people not having Medi-Cal orMedicaid.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (39:21):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (39:22):
And I literally have been telling my
entire family like, you betterget yourself a DPC doctor before
we're all full.
We're, yeah.
Like literally that's just ablack and white fact.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I found someone here for mycousin in, in Arizona.
'cause I'm like, here, here'syour GBC doctor.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (39:37):
Yeah.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (39:38):
You like pay now and argue with me later.
Yeah.
Because I, I think that that isso important for for us to
recognize that so many peopleneed and want what we're doing.
Yeah.
So I think that, as you put yourwebsite to wait list mm-hmm.
I like, I mean, you've alwaysdone what's right for you.
You've always worked until youfind an answer that's
(40:00):
comfortable for you.
So it's like I know that you'llknow what, what is the next step
for you?
Next step.
Yeah.
But I love that you're incommunity right now and I'm so
excited to meet you in prison.
I know.
Because like literally, this iswhere if you are not sure what
the heck to do, just like vomiton somebody else.
Not physically Yeah.
But like vomit all the ideas andthen just like you have, you're
(40:21):
like, you don't need a lasertoday.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And because we can't see pastthe end of our noses sometimes.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And that's okay.
It's okay.
It's okay.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, I am super excited foryou, whatever the future brings.
Thank
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (40:34):
you.
Yeah, it's a, it's such a giftthat you've given this community
to just keep asking goodquestions and hearing people's
stories.
And I think the stories are likethe best part of this, right?
Absolutely.
'cause everybody, you can, youcan hold them up next to each
other and go where, what, whatfits me?
And you know, you say it all thetime, like if you've seen one,
you've seen one.
And there's no right or wrong.
I mean, there's plenty of wrongways to do this, but there's no
(40:56):
right way to do this.
And I think that it can workfor.
Anyone, anywhere.
Again, as long as you align withyour values, I'm gonna be
preaching that until I'm 90.
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (41:05):
That's your pitch next year for a talk.
That's my pitch.
Dr. Jlyn Pritchard (41:07):
There you go.
Let me know if people wanna hearit.
Keynote.
Keynote.
Hashtag
Dr, Maryal Concepcion (41:09):
keynote.
I love that.
Well, thank you so much.
I look forward to Thank you.
What the future holds, and I'mso excited again to meet you in
person.
Thank you.
Thank you for listening toanother episode of my DBC story.
If you enjoyed it, please leavea five star review on your
favorite podcast platform.
It helps others find the show,have a question about direct
primary care.
(41:30):
Leave me a voicemail.
You might hear it answered in afuture episode.
Follow us on socials at thehandle at my D DPC story and
join DPC didactics our monthlydeep dive into your questions
and challenges.
Links are@mydpcstory.com forexclusive content you won't hear
anywhere else.
Join our Patreon.
Find the link in the show notesor search for my DPC story on
(41:50):
patreon.com for DPC news on thedaily.
Check out DPC news.com.
Until next week, this isMarielle conception.
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