Episode 047: Making Direct Care Work as a Gynecologist with Dr. Deborah Herchelroath

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Episode 047

The Paradocs Podcast

Episode 047: Making Direct Care Work as a Gynecologist with Dr. Deborah Herchelroath

Episode 047: Making Direct Care Work as a Gynecologist with Dr. Deborah Herchelroath
Today, we continue our journey discussing physicians who are using direct patient care through a membership model as disruptors in the health care field. Direct primary care is one of the most disruptive and innovative models to emerge in recent years and more and more specialties are looking for ways to adopt the insurance-free notion of providing care to patients. On the show, I've spoken to family physicians, med/peds, internists, cardiologists, rheumatologists, and pediatricians. Now we can add gynecology to the ever growing lists of physician specialties as I discover the practice of Deborah Herchelroath, DO.
Dr. Herchelroath had what would be considered a traditional career working in a busy OB/Gyn practice as an employed physician, then in private practice before launching her new venture. A few years ago, Dr. Herchelroath left a busy private OB/Gyn practice to open her own direct care business focusing on women's health, wellness, and hormone therapy mostly for those going through menopause. In just a few short years, her practice is booming and her goal of a 600 patient panel is just one patient short at 599 at the time of the interview. Dr. Herchelroath describes many of the pitfalls and practice considerations she made in creating the Vitality clinic during the episode.
Coincidentally, Dr. Herchelroath also sits on the AOBOG which is the credentialing and recredentialing board for OB/Gynecology physicians in osteopathic medicine. Interestingly, the allopathic (MDs) and osteopathic (DOs) professions are joining up and working under the same rules through the ACGME for residencies.  They look to maintain separate credentialing boards though which brings to light an interesting possibility for physicians who may soon have competitive boards with which to choose where they receive their credentialing. The rules on whether an allopathic physician can obtain original credentialing through the allopathic boards but then recredential through an osteopathic board has not yet been determined. The uncertainty is surprising since the merger of residencies will happen next year.
Dr. Herchelroath is an OB/Gyn and owner of Vitality Gynecology. She also serves on the AOBOG which is charged with credentialing of osteopathic OB/Gyns.

 

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show notes

Vitality Gynecology, Aesthetics, and Wellness: Dr. Herchelroath's direct care practice in suburban Harrisburg, PA where she specializes in women's health, nutrition, and hormone replacement therapies.

@DrDebHerch: Where Dr. Herchelroath does her twittering.

Vitality GYN Instagram: Where you can find Dr. Herchlroath on Instagram

Dr. Herchelroath: personal Instagram account

American Osteopathic Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology: The board that Dr. Herchelroath serves on.

Episode 001: Why You Should Care About Board Certification with Dr. Meg Edison

Memorial for Andy Larson: This is the donation link to honor Andy's death with the Grand Rapids Choir of Men and Boys where he blossomed and served as a head chorister.

YouTube for Paradocs: Here you can watch the video of my late son singing his solo on the Paradocs YouTube page.

Patreon - Become a show supporter today and visit my Patreon page for extra bonus material. Every dollar raised goes towards the production and promotion of the show.

Listen to The Paradocs on RadioPublic    

2 thoughts on “Episode 047: Making Direct Care Work as a Gynecologist with Dr. Deborah Herchelroath”

  1. guest

    I first heard about “bioidentical hormones” a long time ago on the radio from a lady named Holly Anderson, who can now be found at the following web site:

    PMS Treatment Clinic
    http://www.pmstreatmentclinic.com

    (Aside: The site is designed for viewing on a smart phone, so heads up.)

    I believe she was calling it “natural hormones” at the time, which was because the vast majority of women were treating their imbalances with synthetic hormones.

    From her web site:

    “We offer cutting edge medical treatment with bioidentical hormones for premenstrual syndrome, menopause, perimenopause, posthysterectomy syndrome, andropause, postpartum depression, hypothyroidism, Wilson’s low body temperature syndrome, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and rapid weight loss.”

    Apropos to the theme of the Paradocs podcast, her Yelp entry is interesting in that she is having to overly explain how her billing works to disgruntled patients:

    Yelp – PMS Treatment Center
    https://www.yelp.com/biz/pms-treatment-center-arcadia

    “3.) The insurance company and the pharmaceutical plan are two different companies. The insurance company is billed for the medical services, and the pharmaceutical plan is billed for the prescription medication. Insurance companies may reimburse the provider or the patient. The insurance company had nothing to do with the pharmacy plan. An example of an insurance company is Blue Cross or Blue Shield. An example of a pharmacy plan is Wellpoint or Express Scripts. The pharmacy plan reimburses the patient directly. Any problems with prescription reimbursement must be addressed to the prescription plan, not the insurance company.”

    Regarding the benefits of bioidentical hormones, she says (again from Yelp):

    “… Progesterone is a natural calmer and helps to alleviate the emotional symptoms (depression, irritability panic attacks, mood swings, rage) of PMS. …”

    She used to have better quotable information on her site, but now it’s gone, so I had to pull that last quote from Yelp. Apologies.

    • admin Post author

      Thanks for your feedback. I always enjoy speaking with these physicians who are willing to be disruptive to our current way of delivering care which today means offering upfront prices and transparency. It’s great to hear that others are doing the same as my guest, Dr. Herchelroath.

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