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Dr. Matthew McCarthy
MEDICINE 2.0 By Jennifer Poff Cooper Direct Primary Care is “outside the conventional” model says one NRV practitioner. If seeing your primary care physician for a one-hour appointment sounds like a pipe dream, it’s not. Blacksburg’s Matthew McCarthy, DO, LLC, a Doctor of Osteopathy (D.O.), employs an innovative model of healthcare that allows a direct relationship between the patient and physician without involvement of third-party insurance, drug, or hospital corporations. It’s called direct primary care, a national movement of over 3,000 doctors who are “jumping outside the conventional,” said Dr. McCarthy, whose practice is aptly named, Direct Primary Care of Blacksburg. “This model most honored what I wanted to do with my skill set,” he said.
for any size family. All ages are welcome. “We take babies as soon as they pop out. We also sign death certificates,” he said. McCarthy always wanted to be a family practice physician because of the role models he watched while growing up, including his family doctor and the local ER physician. For medical school McCarthy chose the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine at Virginia Tech, partly because of its focus on primary care. He graduated in 2012, then did a three-year family practice residency through the LewisGale system.
Afterwards his family decided to stay in Blacksburg where it was already plugged in to church and community, particularly A monthly membership fee buys unlimited important with young children. Having access to the physician, so folks do not have grown up in Athens, Georgia, he appreciated to worry about the number of calls, texts, or a college town. McCarthy also touted the visits they are using. His fees are $75/month advantage of having networked with local for an individual, $120 for a couple, and $180 specialists through VCOM.
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t SEPTEMBER 2021 / vbFRONT.com
