8 hours Ago By Austin Fleskes
When Dr. Chris Newland was practicing medicine in Missouri, he found that he didn’t like the model of care he was working under, spending just a small amount of time with each patient and hours on the phone with insurance companies.“It’s not good for patients, and I feel like I could do much better for them.
That was part of the reason for doing this,” he said, later adding, “I thought there’s got to be a better way. So we looked into direct primary care and we didn’t look back.”This led Chris and his wife Wendy Newland to open Dragonfly Direct Primary Care in north Loveland earlier this year, celebrating with an official ribbon cutting earlier this week.
Chris found his way into medicine after more than a decade in a different career. After graduating high school he went into the United States Marine Corps, serving four years. During this time, he found a passion for nutrition and wellness, turning it into a business that he ran for 12 years.
But after more than a decade, he felt like he wasn’t seeing the growth in his life that he wanted, and decided to make a switch to medicine, something he said was a “natural extension” of what he knew. He went back to college and started medical school when he was 31.He served his residency in Greeley and Sterling, which is when he also met Wendy.
The two eventually moved to Missouri, where Chris began working for a corporate primary care doctor’s office. It was here that he felt the traditional healthcare system wasn’t meeting patient needs as well as it could.When he and Wendy moved to Loveland last year, they decided to start their own direct primary care doctor’s office.
Chris said they chose the name dragonfly because of the cultural meaning dragonflies hold for change and self-growth as well as an entomological reason, as dragonflies eat mosquitoes which can carry disease.The American Academy of Family Physicians describes direct primary care as a practice and payment model where “patients/consumers pay their physician or practice directly in the form of periodic payments for a defined set of primary care services.” This means that instead of billing insurance and co-pays on the way out the door, patients pay per month for a suite of care from their doctor instead.
“Because we don’t have our resources put in that direction, we have more time to spend with our patients, which is huge,” Chris said. “No more 10, 15 minute appointments; patients can come in for an hour appointment if they need. It’s as much time as a patient needs to take care of their problems.
”“It’s very affordable and inexpensive for patients to get a whole circle of care,” Wendy said.Chris, as the only physician at Dragonfly, offers services that any primary care physician would offer to a patient, even making house calls from time to time, while Wendy serves a number of front desk roles, including accounting, office management, reception and booking.Standing in one of their exam rooms, Dr.
Chris Newland, center, and his wife, Wendy Newland talk about their new clinic, Dragonfly Direct Primary Care, in Loveland on Thursday. (Jenny Sparks/Loveland Reporter-Herald)On top of typical primary care work, patients can get a selection of other treatments and resources, from skin biopsies and joint injections to nutrition assistance. For all services they can’t do in house, Chris and Wendy can refer patients to other facilities, including for MRIs or mammograms.
Dragonfly also has a pharmacy for basic patient needs and can order other medications at a discounted price.“Think of us as a typical primary care plus,” Chris said, adding that patients are given his direct cell phone number if they need to reach him.Since opening in January, the two have served as their own advertising and marketing team while also helping patients.
Chris said it has been a shift from what he is used to, but has also made him feel like a more well-rounded physician.While some patients are new to the direct patient care model, those with experience have become advocates for it, telling others how it could benefit them, he added.But for Chris and Wendy, the chance to help others is what matters most.
Wendy said it is a rewarding feeling to know she and Chris are doing something to improve other people’s lives.“We are both passionate about helping people,” she said. “I want to make sure people can afford to get the service that they need.
”Chris said this experience has made him feel like he is practicing medicine the way it used to be “before we had all this red tape.”“Its great being able to get to know patients better, spend more time with them, take care of all of their issues,” he said. “It feels, to me, more like medicine.
I feel like I am doing what doctors should be doing and that is caring for patients, not sitting behind a computer.”More information about Dragonfly Direct Primary Care, 103 E. 42nd St.
Suite 107, can be found at dragonflydpc.com. Membership is broken down by age group — $80 a month for those 18 to 25, $110 a month for those 26 to 64 and $120 a month for those 65 and older.
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