Direct primary care, or DPC, is a model where a practice charges patients a flat periodic fee for primary care instead of billing insurance per visit. The fee covers a defined set of services; the practice works for the patient rather than for a claims pipeline, and the administrative machinery of coding for reimbursement, prior authorization, and collections drops away.

The model's clinical consequence is time. Without per-visit billing volume driving the schedule, DPC practices typically run smaller patient panels and longer appointments, which changes what a visit can accomplish: fuller histories, more thorough documentation, continuity with one clinician over time.

For veterans, DPC is one of the ways care happens outside the VA system, alongside VA care itself and conventionally insured private care. The models coexist; records from any of them are medical evidence.