FAQs

You will experience the difference immediately when you visit me at Alpine Whole Health. My office has been designed to create a relaxing, calm, and comfortable experience for you. There is little, if any, waiting time to see me. I will take the time to address your medical concerns and answer all of your questions, and your visits will never feel rushed.  

Because my practice is limited to just a few hundred, not thousands, of patients, I really get to know my patients so I can take a more proactive role in your health and wellness and be there when you need me.

My goal is to provide you with an experience that will not just meet, but exceed, your expectations for a doctor’s office.

Membership medicine (sometimes referred to as “Direct Primary Care” or “Concierge Care”) is an exciting and rapidly growing model for providing health care without the interference of private health insurance companies denying or limiting care. Instead of relying on these companies to adequately reimburse my practice for the services I provide, our patients pay directly through a convenient and affordable membership plan. 

This allows me to keep my practice small and provide you with highly accessible, personalized, and preventive care when you need it. It’s like having your doctor available at the touch of a button. My focus on ensuring a strong and satisfying doctor-patient relationship is the key to helping you stay healthy.

In fact, it’s the way I’ve always wanted and expected to practice medicine!

Your membership covers all primary care services I offer at Alpine Whole Health, including in-office physician visits and telemedicine. You will have an experienced family physician on your side, who wants to see you thrive!

I can provide a great amount of care by phone, text, email, and virtual visits when appropriate. I am available to discuss urgent concerns evenings and weekends when needed. I have created a practice where you can reach me when you need me, without having to jump through many hoops! 

You will enjoy greater convenience and peace of mind. You may also find a reduced need for visits to specialists and the emergency department/urgent care. See the many other benefits you will receive.

We also offer a Deep Dive Membership plan for Functional Medicine and Longevity Medicine consultations plus much more (see details).

My patients see the membership as an investment in their health and longer health-span. There is the potential for earlier detection of disease, and therefore earlier treatment, and less complications. I can also better manage the risks of the majority of your health issues and concerns because of my smaller practice and more connected care model.

In addition, the membership fee may be eligible for HSA, FSA or HRA funds — please check with your tax advisor or plan administrator. 

We will pass along the wholesale Labcorp pricing to you, if you choose not to use insurance, or if we are concerned certain labs will not be covered.

Studies show that membership medicine can lead to:

• Less dependency on medications 
• Fewer specialty referrals
• Fewer emergency and hospital visits
• Less time away from work (your time is money!)
• Less need for wasteful test ordering

Note: Having a comprehensive PPO health insurance plan for you and your family can be very expensive so by switching to a high deductible, low premium insurance plan and combining it with a membership practice, many people find they can lower their out-of-pocket cost of their total medical care. Doing so makes joining this practice even more beneficial. My type of practice is also a good fit for those who have no insurance.

Absolutely. I believe patients would see their doctor more if it were easier to communicate, more private, and less hassle. 

At Alpine Whole Health, I make it easy for my patients to communicate with me and visit me in the office. I listen carefully to you to understand how your life, work and family situations may be affecting your health — physically, mentally, and emotionally. There’s always room for improvement!

Besides acute care and managing illness, my focus is on adopting healthy lifestyle habits. I want to identify and prevent disease and other risk factors, concentrating my efforts on your lifetime health and wellness. Together, I will create a personalized plan to achieve and maintain your optimal health. 

Advanced diagnostic tests can help us identify risk factors and health issues before they cause disease, saving you money, time, suffering, and higher costs in the long run. Unlike the traditional practice environment, I have the time to deliver this type of comprehensive and detailed care.  

People of all ages benefit from the value-added services I offer at Alpine Whole Health. 

(As a family medicine doctor, I specialize in providing primary medical care for all ages).

My model works especially well for:

• Those who wish to have their medical care remain private.
• Patients desiring easy and direct communication with their doctor.
• Patients who want a doctor to address the underlying cause of illness, not to just treat the symptoms.
• Those who want to take part in improving their health and staying well.
• Patients who want a physician with traditional training but an open mind to non-traditional approaches such as health coaching, meditation, functional testing, others.
• Those with high insurance premiums, high-deductible health plans or no insurance. 
• Self-insured businesses seeking to provide their employees with exceptional health care and improved wellbeing.
• Patients who are too busy to spend extended time waiting in a doctor’s office to be seen.

Tourists and non-residents only: You may become a member of our practice (see pricing details).

This can be a stressful and often confusing experience for patients and their families.  

You will be cared for by the emergency room physician and/or hospitalist team. I will communicate with them, review your plan of care, answer questions, and make recommendations as needed. As your health care advocate, I will communicate directly with you and your loved ones, and help you navigate the health care system. 

Yes, I do, for those who live or work in Silverthorne, Dillon, Frisco, and Breckenridge. Otherwise, I appreciate it can be logistically difficult to get to the doctor’s office and will see patients in their home or medically appropriate situations on a case-by-case basis. 

Immunizations have saved more lives than any other medical advance in history — they protect us from preventable and potentially severe or fatal disease.  I suggest administering them based on the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended schedule, and I will review the vaccine schedule together before beginning.

Yes, I feel strongly about having the right to spend their last days with a plan that allows them to feel comfortable and die with dignity in the comfort of their home, around family members and friends.

As your primary care physician, my comprehensive training allows me to handle most of your healthcare needs and will prevent specialty referrals in many cases. I know the local specialists, and if you need to see one, I will help you find the right one and coordinate your care. When making referrals, I can consult with your specialist prior to your appointment, as needed.

After your specialist visit, I will follow up to discuss any of your questions or concerns and arrange additional testing and management if needed.

Of course! This is one of the greatest benefits of my membership model. Because illness and injury do not respect regular office hours, you may call at any time for urgent matters. If you have a life-threatening emergency, you should call 911 or go to the ER immediately. 

Often, I can diagnose and treat your need without a visit to the ER. In fact, membership medicine has been shown to result in many fewer ER and urgent care visits because I can discuss your medical needs when you need to. If appropriate, rest assured I can see you the same or next day!

You can speak with me wherever you are, and I will help with any medical conditions that can be handled by a virtual visit. If you have a condition that requires in-person evaluation and treatment, I will direct you to appropriate nearby care, and coordinate follow-up when you return home.

For college students, membership provides reassurance that reduces one of the stressors that come with college life. Your student can easily contact me by cell, text, email, or video, providing them with medical support when they need it. Your student will have their own trusted doctor who knows them well and can ensure comprehensive care while they’re away from home. 

I can handle most medical needs from minor concerns to coordination and communication with local healthcare providers. I offer direct, personalized care and may be able to help your student avoid a visit to the clinic altogether. With my college program, both you and your college-bound student can breathe easier.

As a member of Alpine Whole Health, you are never alone. Even when out of town, I will still be available for your urgent needs. You will be notified by email before any vacations.

I have chosen not to seek reimbursement from insurance plans. My practice is unencumbered by the constraints and limited reimbursement from insurance plans so that I may better serve and care for my patients. You will receive completely unbiased medical evaluation, recommendations and treatment. You only pay the membership fee. There will be no charge for office visits or co-pays/deductibles. No hassles and no hidden charges.

My model results in significant savings: money, paperwork, and time. The membership fee allows me to keep my overhead low and my practice small, and work for you, my valued patient, not the insurance company!

Absolutely.  My practice is well suited to handle the more complex medical issues often associated with older patients. I can spend the time necessary to manage — and possibly reverse — chronic disease, minimize the use of medications, and work together to optimize your health and wellness.

Note: As I have opted-out of Medicare, you need only sign a waiver (every 2 years) declaring that neither you nor your clinician will directly bill Medicare for my services. Even though Medicare will not reimburse me for any services you receive in my practice, your Medicare benefits will otherwise remain unchanged and can continue to be used for all other medical care received outside of my practice. Medicare coverage will continue according to your specific plan, without change for medications, blood work, imaging tests, specialty referrals and care, or hospitalization.

Yes. My medical practice is not an insurance provider.  

Medical insurance helps to protect you from expensive, unusual, and unpredictable events such as surgery, emergency care and hospitalization.  

Insurance may also be used to cover those medical services not included in my membership plan such as prescription drugs, certain labs, diagnostic imaging (X-rays, MRI’s) and services provided by medical specialists. 

Good insurance does not equal good healthcare. The current insurance-based system makes primary care more difficult to provide, and less effective too. At Alpine Whole Health I strive for the opposite – my goal is to provide all the services you need to achieve your best health.

By charging a set fee, I can spend more time with you and focus on your individual health needs to maintain and improve your health, and even help you reverse chronic disease. I want you to see me as often as you need to, because my goal is healthy and happy members!

If you have an HMO plan and are interested in joining Alpine Whole Health, please call me at 970.499.1419 to discuss how membership may best work for you.

Please visit the Fees* page for details.

The best part is, there are never any co-pays, or deductibles to meet. And no surprise bills.

Yes. One of the most important aspects of personalized medicine is limiting the practice size to be able to devote more time and energy to each patient. Therefore, once I have reached my ideal practice size, I will establish a waiting list.

You may cancel your membership if you are unhappy with our services after 3 months, with thirty days’ notice.  If you prepaid your membership fee for the year you will be reimbursed for the remaining months.

Please note: If you cancel your membership and decide to rejoin the practice at a later date, you may be placed on a waiting list pending membership availability; and you might be charged a reinitiating fee.  

Of course! If you are not an established patient of mine, I ask that we meet each other in-person (or virtually) to be sure my practice is a good fit for you. You may use the Contact form to request a meeting; or schedule a meet and great appointment.

Yes! Family members or friends may want to provide a loved one the gift of membership. It’s a great way to provide support and peace of mind and ensure personalized attention for their well-being. We also over gift certificates for any other services (VO2 max, HBOT, Body composition)

You may apply online now or contact us.

Please remember that space is limited, and members are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Once all available slots are filled, I will add your name to the waiting list, so I encourage you to let me know soon if you would like to join.

Yes. I can provide a higher level of personal care, and the time to focus on prevention and wellness. With a smaller panel of patients and more time with patients, chronic conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure can be better managed. 

Your employees can be seen right away to address minor injuries and illnesses. Virtual visits by text, email or video can also take the place of a time-consuming office visit, which means less time away from work. 

As opposed to traditional healthcare, greater emphasis on wellness results in healthier and happier employees, and significantly reduced healthcare costs for their employers because of:

• Reduced absenteeism
• Less time away from work
• Greater productivity and performance at work
• Reduced workplace injuries
• Fewer expensive ER and hospital visits
• Fewer specialty physician visits
• Better health coverage at a lower cost

I would be pleased to explore solutions for your business or establish connections with your employer. Contact us to learn more!