Worth Med bringing boutique medical care to Dubois County

Like most doctors, Pediatrician Lindsey Taylor wanted to provide quality care for her patients, but found herself tired of the high volume of patients and the short timeframes required by large hospitals. So, she decided to slow down and introduce a new business model for medical care to the area through her practices in Jasper and Montgomery. Welcome to Worth Med.

Worth Med now offers direct primary care through Dr. Taylor’s pediatrician services and the practice’s two nurse practitioners for adults. According to Dr. Taylor, direct primary care is a cash-based service that provides transparent, affordable, direct access to providers through a membership model.

“You become a member paying at most $100 a month, and you get, for example, for your child, unlimited visits each month,” Dr. Taylor explained.

Families with multiple members receive discounted pricing for additional members.

The list of services she can provide is extensive and includes physicals, CDL exams and minor office procedures, such as sutures and splints. They also provide labs at cost and have antibiotics available at cost if needed. They even provide house calls, and if you aren’t a member, you can still be seen.

The model eliminates insurance billing and provides transparent pricing. Patients know exactly what they will pay before receiving services, unlike traditional healthcare, where bills can arrive months later with uncertain amounts.

“When you come to us, this is how much you’re gonna pay, and you know it,” Dr. Taylor said.

For specialized services covered by insurance, Dr. Taylor can still refer patients to those providers. “I can still order an MRI through the hospital, and then your insurance can step in at that point.”

The pediatrician, who left hospital employment two years ago to pursue travel medicine, decided to establish the clinics after growing tired of the traditional healthcare system.

“I thought I hated my job, but I was sick of the system,” Dr. Taylor said. “It had nothing to do with my patients or families or medicine in general. It had to do with the system.”

Seeing the success fellow doctors were having with direct primary care in other areas of the country and state, Dr. Taylor began exploring the model and initially offered it in Montgomery, where many patients were already accustomed to paying cash for services.

“When I announced that, there seemed to be a demand here in Dubois County, as well,” she explained.

She decided to pursue it, and the idea is catching on. But the drive among providers is a direct connection to their patients, providing more personalized, accessible care while taking the time needed to do so.

“I am not getting into the rat race that I was in before,” Dr. Taylor says. “My friends in Indianapolis that do this, they see six to seven patients a day and make the same amount that they were making at the hospital. Most of us were seeing 30 to 40 a day.”

She is limiting her pediatric practice to 50 patients to avoid returning to the demanding schedule she experienced in hospital-based medicine. She also employs two nurse practitioners, Megan Nonte, FNP-C, in Montgomery and Melanie Hopf, PA-C, in Jasper, who provide care for patients of all ages, while Taylor focuses on pediatric patients.

Patient reactions vary based on familiarity with the model. Those with family in other parts of the country where direct primary care is more common readily embrace the concept, while others prefer to use the clinics for sick visits without committing to membership.

For those individuals familiar with the model, it’s an easy decision. “They’re like, yes, sign me up,” Dr. Taylor explained. “The other reaction is ‘we’re going to use you for sick visits. But this whole membership thing kind of scares us.'”

Dr. Taylor emphasized that patients are not locked into long-term contracts. She also conducts free meet-and-greet sessions to explain the model, and patients can discontinue membership at any time.

“At any point, they’re like, this isn’t for me. You can get out. You know, you’re not locked into a year agreement. It’s your choice,” she said.

The direct primary care model is gaining popularity nationwide, with physicians in urban areas like Indianapolis and Cincinnati leaving traditional health systems to establish similar practices. Dr. Taylor recently met with another family physician moving to the area, who plans to implement the same model.

The move is fueled by doctors seeking greater job satisfaction through reduced patient volume, which allows for thorough care and relationship building that was difficult in the hospital setting.

“I’m working more than I’ve ever worked, but I’m happier,” she says. “I’m happier because I can practice the type of medicine that I believe should be practiced.”

Patients interested in learning more about the direct primary care model can contact Worth Med at 812-486-6555. The clinic’s website remains under construction. The practice is located at 504 Third Ave. in Jasper.