March 30th, 2026
On this National Doctor’s day, I want to give a shout out to all my colleagues who have made this field such an honorable profession. A journey to become a doctor always requires countless hours of sacrifice, relentless pursue of knowledge, at times isolation from friends and family, all while keeping one goal in mind – being the best self possible to provide care to our patients. Often these struggles go unnoticed as we are just doing our duty, but today, we can take a moment to recognize.
As I reflect on my journey as a primary care physician, I would have never imagined being where I am today.
It was suppose to be simple plan. Study hard, get a job, take care of patients. Well, adulthood is never that simple, is it?
I have been in primary care for 10 years now. As a family medicine physician, I always learned to provide the best recommendations to make my patient’s health better. But I often found myself being short of that due to external forces. These external forces being insurances. What type of insurance does the patient have? Can they come see me? How frequent can they afford to see me? Will they get this medication covered? Will this test be covered? How frequent will the insurance allow me to cover this part of the treatment for the patient? A common theme was very clear: What will insurance allow?
Most often discussions included this very concern. What will insurance allow? Not what is the best for the patient? But what will insurance allow? This was a big disconnect. Especially in primary care where we are suppose to be the first line of care for every patient. Such restrictions not only interfered with recommendations often but also hindered patient to seek care in the first place. People will wait till their “Annual visit” for any concern that may be developing in the past year. They will stretch their follow ups out of the fear of another surprise bill rather than getting their concerns addressed sooner. Often times, this resulted in missed preventative measures, worsening chronic conditions leading to complications and even hospitalizations. In other words, opposite of what primary care really should be.
Many physicians continue to navigate through these daily struggles. Trying their best to still find a way to positively impact their patient’s lives. I really think “being relentless” is part of a trait that every physician possess. They would go extra miles just to take care of their patients through all these limitations. That’s why I always will have tremendous respect for every physician out there. That’s why this day still matters, National Doctor’s day.
However, in recent years, this has taken significant toll on several physicians. As the term – burned out. Overall physician burn out rate is estimated to be 49% to 53%; family medicine physician rates to be similar around 50%. This means, about 50% of physicians are getting tired of the system and/ or unhappy with their current primary care setup. Whether they join different fields such as Urgent care, non-clinical work such as Pharmaceuticals jobs or leave the medical field entirely, physicians are leaving primary care much earlier than what they would have liked to. This has clearly resulted in shortage of primary care physicians, good primary care physicians, as well as increasing appointment wait times. It is like a domino effect. Steady paychecks without job satisfactions is not what any physician envisioned for their future after a long road. After all, as I always tell my medical students, there are much better ways to make money but this field takes a different heart to work, day in and day out.
This was me. I felt like I was not able to optimally care for my patients in the system I was placed. I really wanted to care for my patients and do what was best for them, not what insurance thought was best. There is a clear conflict of interest when insurance dictates treatment plans. This is where I decided that it was time for a change.
However, I did not want to completely let go of primary care. After all, this was my identity.
I often think about our family doctor growing up. I have the best memory of this doctor since he was the one we went to for all our needs. He even came to our house for care and we even went to his house for care, I remember that day clearly. What I don’t remember is ever talking about what coverage we have, because that was never a restriction back in the day. I am sure many of you guys can relate to this as well.
This is when I came across Direct Primary Care (DPC). A model that allows me to take care of patients without the middleman, without any redtape, without any restrictions. Its all about just patient-doctor relationship. For a flat rate monthly membership, you get unlimited access to your doctor, wholesale pricing on labs/ medications, and discounted imaging. There are no made-up metric incentives, just recommendations that are best for our patients!
This is how Shine Medical Center Direct Primary Care was founded. This was never a plan, but seems to be destined.
This journey has not been easy by any means. In fact, it has been more challenging than to stay within the system with comfortable pay. But I am happy. And more importantly, my patients are happy and satisfied with the care that they deserve. As long as I have this platform, I will continue to advocate for affordable, accessible patient care. If this resonates with you, click here to learn more.
Lastly, I wish all my colleagues a Happy National Doctor’s Day. I see you, and I wish you all happiness and success in your career. No matter the field you serve, I know you always have the best interest for patients in your minds at all times. I am thankful for your care. And I hope you take a moment to reflect on your journey today, you have already accomplished so much!
Regards,
Preyanshu Parekh, DO
Family Medicine Physician
Shine Medical Center: Direct Primary Care
Hoffman Estates, IL
630-635-3650
info@shinemedicalcenter.com
shinemedicalcenter.com