Service Providers for DPC Practices¶

Quick Summary: The right professional advisors can save you significant time, money, and legal risk. Here's what to look for in key service providers.

Vendors are named on this page as examples so you know where to start looking. The kit does not endorse any of them; compare at least two before you sign.

Essential Professional Advisors¶

Healthcare Attorney¶

When you need one: - Forming your business entity - Drafting membership agreement - Reviewing contracts - Partnership/employment agreements - Compliance questions - If anything goes wrong

What to look for: - Healthcare law experience (essential) - DPC familiarity (ideal) - Physician practice experience - Responsive communication - Clear fee structure

Typical costs: - Membership agreement review: $500-2,000 - Entity formation: $1,000-3,000 - Hourly rate: $200-500/hour - Partnership agreement: $3,000-10,000

Finding DPC-savvy attorneys: - DPC Alliance and DPC Frontier vendor listings - DPC conference sponsor lists - Ask other DPC physicians - State medical society referrals

Questions to ask: - Have you worked with DPC practices? - What's your fee structure? - How quickly do you respond? - Can you review my membership agreement?

Accountant / CPA¶

When you need one: - Entity structure decisions - Tax planning - Bookkeeping (optional) - Annual tax preparation - Payroll (if employees) - Financial guidance

What to look for: - Medical practice experience - Small business focus - Proactive tax planning - Accessible for questions - QuickBooks compatible (if using)

Typical costs: - Annual tax prep (solo): $500-1,500 - Monthly bookkeeping: $200-500 - Payroll services: $50-150/month - Tax planning meeting: $200-500

Questions to ask: - Do you work with physician practices? - How do you handle quarterly estimates? - What's included in your annual fee? - How available are you for questions?

Insurance Broker¶

Types of insurance to discuss: - Malpractice (professional liability) - Business owner's policy (BOP) - Cyber liability - Workers' compensation - Health insurance (for you) - Disability insurance - Life insurance

What to look for: - Access to multiple carriers - Medical practice experience - Annual policy review - Claims assistance - Responsive service

Questions to ask: - What carriers do you work with? - Do you specialize in healthcare? - How often do you review coverage? - What's your commission structure?

Financial Services¶

Banking¶

What to look for: - Business checking account - Low/no fees for small business - Online banking - Mobile deposit - Good customer service

DPC-friendly banks: - Local community banks (often best service) - Credit unions - Online banks (lower fees)

Avoid: Big banks that don't prioritize small business

Payment Processing¶

Published standard rates, checked 2026-09-22. Both vendors change these; the linked pages are the source of truth.

For DPC: ACH (bank transfer) is usually the cheapest way to collect recurring memberships. A 2.9% card fee on a $100 membership is $3.20 a month per member; the ACH equivalent is under $1.

Merchant Services¶

If accepting credit cards in-office: - Compare rates carefully - Watch for hidden fees - Compare terminal options (Square, Stripe, Clover, your bank's merchant services) on total monthly cost at your expected volume - Avoid long-term contracts

Operational Service Providers¶

Answering Services¶

When needed: - After-hours coverage - Overflow during busy times - Vacation coverage

Options: | Type | Cost | Quality | |------|------|---------| | Medical answering service | $100-300/month | Trained in medical triage | | Virtual receptionist | $200-500/month | Professional, not medical | | AI-powered | $50-150/month | Improving rapidly | | Colleague coverage | Trade/free | Best clinical judgment |

What to look for: - HIPAA compliance and a signed BAA (an answering service handles PHI on your behalf; see BAA Requirements) - Medical experience - Clear protocols - Message delivery method - Call recording (for your review)

IT Support¶

When needed: - EMR setup/troubleshooting - Network security - Computer issues - Telehealth technical support

Options: - Managed service provider (MSP): $100-300/month - Break-fix technician: $75-150/hour - EMR vendor support: Included or fee - DIY with cloud-based systems: $0

For most DPC practices: Cloud-based EMR + minimal local IT = low IT needs

Medical Waste Disposal¶

Required if you generate: - Sharps (needles, lancets) - Biohazardous materials - Some medications

Vendors (names checked 2026-09-22): - Stericycle (acquired by WM in November 2024 and now operates as part of WM Healthcare Solutions; the Stericycle name is still used: WM notice to Stericycle customers) - Sharps Compliance (privately held by Aurora Capital Partners since 2022; name unchanged) - Daniels Health and other regional route-based services - Mail-back sharps programs, often the cheapest option for a low-volume solo practice

Cost: $30-100/month for a small practice on a route-based service; mail-back containers are priced per box. Get quotes from at least two and check the contract term.

Cleaning Services¶

Don't clean your own office.

Options: - Medical office cleaning service: $100-300/month - General cleaning with medical add-on - Daily vs. weekly vs. twice-weekly

What to look for: - Experience with medical offices - HIPAA awareness (seeing patient info) - Flexible scheduling - Reliability

Marketing and Web Services¶

Website¶

Logo and Branding¶

• DIY (Canva, or similar tools): a free tier plus a paid tier of roughly $15-18/month (check Canva's pricing page; it has risen several times since 2024)
• Design contest sites (99designs, part of Vista since 2020, and others): roughly $300-1,300 per logo contest
• Local designer: $500-2,500
• Branding agency: $5,000+

SEO/Marketing¶

For most DPC practices: - Google Business Profile (free, essential) - Basic website SEO (DIY-able) - Social media presence - Patient word-of-mouth

Don't overspend on marketing - DPC grows through relationships

DPC-Specific Software and Resources¶

The vendors below are the ones you will hear about first at DPC conferences. Listing them is not a recommendation; several other DPC EMRs and membership platforms (Cerbo, Akute Health and others) compete on the same features, and the Lab Partners page covers their lab integrations.

Hint Health¶

Services: Membership management, billing, patient enrolment, and since 2023 an integrated EMR (Hint Clinical)

Cost: A flat monthly subscription that includes one clinician and scales by clinician and, on higher tiers, by active members; published tiers started at $290/month when checked 2026-09-22 (hint.com/pricing). It is not priced as a percentage of revenue.

Best for: Practices wanting turnkey membership management, with or without the EMR

Atlas.md¶

Services: EMR + practice management for DPC

Cost: Monthly subscription; contact for pricing

Best for: All-in-one DPC solution

Elation Health¶

Services: EMR with DPC-friendly features and a separate membership-billing add-on

Cost: Monthly subscription; contact for pricing

Best for: Clinical-focused EMR

DPC Frontier¶

Services: Education, resources, state-law mapper, community

Cost: Free (with some premium content)

Best for: Learning and networking

Evaluating Service Providers¶

Questions to Ask¶

1. Do you work with small medical practices?
2. Do you have DPC-specific experience?
3. What's your fee structure?
4. How do you communicate?
5. What's included vs. extra?
6. Can I speak with references?
7. What's the contract term?
8. How do I cancel if needed?

Red Flags¶

• Long-term contracts for simple services
• Unclear pricing
• No medical practice experience
• Poor communication during sales process
• Pressure tactics
• No references available

Getting Recommendations¶

• Ask other DPC physicians
• DPC Facebook groups
• State medical society
• DPC conferences
• Local physician networks

Related Guides¶

• Working with Attorneys
• Business Insurance Guide
• Tax Planning Basics
• BAA Requirements
• Lab Partners

Good advisors pay for themselves in avoided mistakes and saved time. Invest in relationships with professionals who understand your DPC practice.

Read through and figures checked on 2026-09-22.