This may be one of the most important conversations we have in this community. Zocdoc gets blamed a lot in DPC circles: - “Low-quality patients” - “Price shoppers” - “High no-show rates” - “Terrible ROI” Some of that criticism is fair. Some of it misses the point entirely. Let’s start with an honest question: What kind of patients actually use Zocdoc? In our experience, they tend to fall into a few buckets: - People who are frustrated with access - People who are new to the area - People who are used to transactional healthcare - People who believe “covered = cared for” (until it isn’t) - And yes—some are price shoppers That doesn’t make them bad patients. It makes them uneducated patients—and that distinction matters. Where practices get Zocdoc wrong Zocdoc is not: ❌ A relationship platform ❌ A loyalty channel ❌ A long-term acquisition engine Zocdoc is: ✅ A discovery tool ✅ A moment of intent ✅ A chance to redirect the patient journey The mistake happens when practices treat a Zocdoc booking like a win—when it’s actually just step one. How we re-framed Zocdoc inside FirstCall DPC We never built Zocdoc into our system as “marketing.” We built it as a controlled intake valve feeding into GoHighLevel. Here’s what that looks like operationally: 1️⃣ Zocdoc → GHL (email-based trigger) Since Zocdoc doesn’t fire webhooks: - Appointment emails route into GHL - GHL creates the contact - The workflow begins immediately 2️⃣ Immediate expectation setting Automatic SMS + email: - Confirms the appointment - Clearly states: This is Direct Primary Care We do not bill insurance Membership is required - Encourages early cancellation if it’s not a fit This alone filters a huge percentage of misaligned patients. 3️⃣ Speed + human touch - Staff attempts live contact quickly - Education > selling - If no response: 3 attempts Then cancellation No chasing. No begging. 4️⃣ Payment before care - Membership payment links sent via GHL - No payment = no visit - Automation handles reminders and cancellations

Why we stopped trying to “fix” healthcare—and built something better. For years, healthcare has been optimized around billing, not patients. Higher premiums. Narrow networks. More friction. Employers pay more every year. Patients delay care. And the ER becomes the default access point. This post outlines how we built a true healthcare replacement model—not a theory, not a pilot—while still working full-time as emergency medicine physicians. Where This Started (The ER Truth) A massive percentage of patients we see in the emergency department are there because: - They can’t access primary care - They don’t understand their benefits - They’re “covered” but afraid of the cost - Or they’ve been bounced around a broken system Insurance wasn’t failing catastrophically. It was failing quietly—through delay, confusion, and avoidance. That’s when we realized: Insurance is a poor tool for delivering everyday healthcare. So we stopped trying to optimize insurance—and built around it. The Architecture of a Real Replacement Model This only works if every layer is intentional. 1️⃣ Direct Primary Care (The Foundation) FirstCall DPC became the front door: - Same-day access - Longer visits - No billing friction - No visit limits - No prior authorization for basic care DPC handles 70–80% of healthcare needs when done correctly. But DPC alone isn’t enough. 2️⃣ Community Concierge Navigation (The Missing Layer) Most healthcare failures aren’t clinical—they’re navigational. This is where PatientPAL became critical. PatientPAL functions as the human guidance layer, helping members: - Understand benefits - Navigate imaging and specialty care - Resolve billing confusion - Coordinate follow-ups - Avoid unnecessary ER visits This isn’t a call center. It’s advocacy + continuity. When combined with DPC, this layer alone demonstrated ~$1,000 per employee per year in modeled savings, while improving outcomes 3️⃣ Claims Intelligence & Network Optimization