We walk through Dr. Rebecca Berens’ journey of building a DPC practice while navigating motherhood, uncertainty, and the unexpected challenges of opening in 2020. Instead of forcing growth, she leaned into her season of life and allowed her practice to evolve naturally through relationships and aligned care. Over time, her patient base shifted through trust and referrals rather than traditional marketing. This episode is a reminder that sustainable growth in DPC comes from community, mindset shifts, and letting go of the need to do everything alone.

What You’ll Learn

• Why your DPC timeline doesn’t need to match anyone else’s

• How to grow your practice through referrals and community

• A non-salesy approach to marketing as a physician

• Why you shouldn’t try to do everything alone in DPC

• Key mindset shifts around money, growth, and sustainability

  
  

Key Moments from the Episode

• Opening a DPC practice right before the pandemic

• Feeling “behind” and learning to reframe success

• Building a niche through aligned patient care

• Using community groups to serve instead of sell

• Transitioning to a referral-driven practice

  
  

Who Is This For?

This is for physicians who feel behind, overwhelmed, or unsure if they’re doing DPC “right.” It’s also for those who want a more sustainable, community-driven way to grow their practice without burning out.

About the Guest

Dr. Rebecca Berens is a family medicine physician and the founder of Vida Family Medicine in Sugar Land, Texas. She has been practicing DPC for over six years and has built a referral-based practice focused where she helps break down health misinformation in a thoughtful and nuanced way.

on patients recovering from disordered eating. She is also the co-host of The Anti-Social Doctors Podcast.

Book Mentioned

• She Sells by Megan Dalla-Camina

• Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell

• Influence by Robert Cialdini

• 10x Is Easier Than 2x by Dan Sullivan & Benjamin Hardy

  
  

  Podcasts Mentioned

• The Anti-Social Doctors PodcastFollow Dr. Rebecca on Instagram: @rebeccaberensmd

• EntreMD Podcast by Dr. Una

  
  

This episode covers how to find patients through Facebook group referrals and how to market authentically as an introvert. But knowing where to find patients is only half the equation.

The other half is knowing exactly what to say when you find them, and being clear enough about your practice identity that your message actually lands.

If you're preparing to open your DPC practice and want to build that clarity before you start marketing, DPC Foundations was built for exactly that moment.

The taller the building the deeper the foundation has to go. Foundations does that deep work first: your practice identity, your messaging, your clarity. This is what you need first.

Founding member price: $499 - goes to $799 at launch in 2 weeks.

👉 Save your spot at dpcfoundations.com

If you feel like you spend more time checking boxes than caring for the human in front of you, this conversation will hit home.In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Marissa Fusella, a family medicine physician in Latham, New York, who’s in the early days of launching her Direct Primary Care practice, Fusella Family Medicine. After eight years in employed medicine, she felt the growing tension between loving her patients and feeling trapped in a system that doesn’t.

We talk candidly about what it’s like to leave a “stable” job, start a DPC with just one enrolled patient, and keep going when growth is slower than the Instagram highlight reels. Marissa shares how community, courage, and lots of imperfect action are shaping her path back to patient-centered care.

Who This Is For

• Physicians buried in paperwork who want to practice real, relational medicine again

• DPC‑curious doctors who want the unfiltered version of what the early months look like

• New DPC owners who need reassurance that slow, steady growth is normal

  
  

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• Why you should start before you feel fully ready

• How “done is better than perfect” looks in a real DPC launch

• Why community may be the most important growth strategy you have

• How simple meet‑and‑greets can educate a community and attract the right patients

• Why building slowly does not mean you’re building wrong

  
  

If this episode encourages you, share it with a physician who might be quietly questioning their current path. It might be the permission they need to take their next step.

Channel Resources

🌐 Website: https://fusellafamilymedicine.com

📘 Facebook: Fusella Family Medicine

📸 Instagram: Fusella Family Medicine

And if you're exploring your own DPC launch, don’t forget to check out the Breakeven Calculator for New DPC Practices to help you gain clarity and confidence around your numbers before you leap.

Breakeven Calculator for New DPC Practices: https://harmonyopshealth.com/launch

In this episode, I share the 10 fears I hear over and over from physicians who are thinking about Direct Primary Care but feel unsure about leaving employed medicine. We talk about realistic patient follow‑through, contracts, finances, timing, and how to know if you’re actually ready to move.

You’ll see that you’re not alone, you’re not the only one thinking about this, and there is a clear path forward.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What usually happens when you leave an employed practice (and what % of patients typically follow)

• How to explain a monthly membership fee to insured patients without feeling salesy

• When to start telling patients and colleagues you’re leaving, and how non‑compete / non‑solicit clauses affect that

• How to think about runway, side gigs, and the financial risk of leaving too early vs too late

• Simple ways to start talking about DPC so meet‑and‑greets feel less awkward

• How to build interest and a waitlist before you open, instead of launching to an empty panel

• The mindset and family / financial questions to ask when deciding if you’re ready to leave employed medicine

• Why you’re absolutely not the only one considering DPC, and how many practices are already thriving

• The Practice Momentum Flywheel: reach → resonate → respond → retain, and how that builds your practice over time

  
  

About the Independent Practice Path

Many physicians don’t need more information about DPC. They need a clear path and a small group to walk it with them.

The Independent Practice Path is an 8‑week small‑cohort program for physicians who want to move from “thinking about it” to actively preparing to open an independent direct care practice.

Over eight weeks, you will:

• Clarify your practice model so you know exactly what you’re building

• Practice how to talk about DPC and your membership in a way that feels natural

• Begin building interest and a waitlist before you open

• Put the basic systems in place that support your future practice

  
  

How to take the next step

1. Start the Readiness Reflection. Complete the short Readiness Reflection on the Independent Practice Path website to see where you are in the process and what your next step should be.

   Link: https://ipp.harmonyopshealth.com/

2. Join the next cohort. The next Independent Practice Path cohort starts on March 24. Enrollment closes once we begin, so if you want to be part of this round, complete the Readiness Reflection and register as soon as you’re ready.

3. Ask your questions. If you’re unsure if this is a fit, complete the Readiness Reflection and then email me using the address listed on that page.

   
   

Your future patients need you practicing medicine the way you imagined when you wrote your personal statement. If you’ve been thinking about DPC for a long time, this is your invitation to start taking concrete steps toward your own independent practice.
Email me at ⁠anne@crescendooperations.com⁠ and let’s figure out if IPP is the right fit for you.