Dr. Christy Arthur’s Journey to Direct Primary Care

As a child, I suffered from recurrent bouts of strep throat, and I got to know my pediatrician, Dr. Gower, very well. Even though I was just a child, his patience and presence allowed me to feel heard. From the age of nine, I have wanted to do for others what he had done for me—treating me compassionately so I got better faster.

When I started practicing family medicine at Carilion, I enjoyed forming relationships with patients. Spending time talking about what was going on in their LIFE (not just in their disease) fulfilled me and inspired me. And over the years, my panel grew. In 2021, when I departed traditional fee-for-service medicine, I was listed as the primary care physician for over three thousand patients. My schedule was packed, and I was consistently frustrated that not only were the demands to physically see patients in the office increasing, the administrative side tasks (like fighting with insurance to get a CT scan approved) were becoming more numerous. In addition, I had taken on many administrative responsibilities, and it was challenging for me to delegate or ask for help. The result was that I was feeling stressed and rushed, I was not showing up as the physician I wanted to be, and it was taking its toll on me and my family.

Then, the CoVID-19 pandemic happened, and we all learned that the next day isn’t promised and it became more urgent to make each day count. I journaled, hiked, took up mountain biking, re-dedicated myself to meditation and practicing yoga, and all of that allowed me to slow down and listen.

And, two things became very clear. The first was that when I thought about medicine, one part I liked the most was the coaching. It required deep listening, asking the right questions, meeting the patient where they were and helping them figure out how to move forward. Several of my friends are life coaches, and they encouraged me to become certified. After completing a program through the Healthcare Coaching Institute, I am an Associate Certified Coach through the International Coach Federation, and I have opened my private coaching business, called More Than Doctor. And while I enjoy helping young physicians to see things differently, coaching them through the stresses of the medical system helped me to see things differently too.

And that led to the second thing that became clear. Continuing to practice medicine in my previous hospital-owned practice was not allowing me the environment I needed to pursue my purpose. I shifted to working in a flex capacity, filling in for doctors throughout the New River and Roanoke Valleys. And, I fell in love with medicine again. The flex pool doesn’t have all the administrative burden of carrying a large panel. I had the opportunity to practice in smaller offices and I liked the collegiality a small practice affords. At the same time, I missed “knowing” my patients, getting to see them more than once, and continuing the story into the next visit.

I had learned of direct primary care years ago when I went to a conference in April of 2016, but I just wasn’t ready. It has taken six long years for that seed of inspiration to take root and grow, and now I am finally ready for this next step. All the pieces are falling into place, I have the support of my husband and family, and THIS is what I have been seeking.

The direct primary care model makes possible what I was missing the most—more time with patients, so I can use coaching skills; flexibility to do things differently, so I can structure my schedule with time for coaching and medicine; and time for self-care, so I can be the type of wife, mother, physician and coach that I was meant to be.

My vision is to impart inclusive, sustainable, revolutionary human care with great compassion and mutual respect through use an inclusive direct payment system that allows our patients to receive mental and physical care in a timely, respectful and compassionate manner, so they can achieve ultra health and we can all heal. I want each patient to feel welcomed, respected, and well (not just free of disease, or “better” from an acute problem). I envision using coaching to help patients overcome mental issues that are contributing to physical issues, and I will continue to coach individuals who aren’t members of Ultra Primary Care as well.

It’s been a worthwhile journey to have brought me to this specific point in time, on the precipice of opening my own practice, delivering medicine in a way honors you, the patient. I can’t wait to share this dream with you—I believe everyone deserves to live their purpose. Thank you for helping me live mine.