Typical DPC Panel Sizes and Flexibility

"My wife would come back to check on me late at night, asleep at the keyboard, and she would be like, 'Is he dead?' The burnout, what we call moral injury, is more real than anybody knows." - Will Steelman

The American healthcare system is crushing its doctors. Faced with "assembly line" quotas of 25+ patients a day, hours of unpaid administrative work ("pajama time"), and a suicide rate higher than that of veterans, physicians are fleeing the profession in droves.

My guest this week is Dr. Will Steelman, a board-certified internal medicine physician who lived through this crisis firsthand. After 12 years as a hospitalist, Dr. Steelman reached his breaking point during the pandemic and realized the only way to save his career, and his life, was to exit the system entirely.

In this episode, we explore why Direct Primary Care (DPC) is the only viable path forward for the future of medicine. Will explains how DPC restores the doctor-patient relationship by reducing patient panels from 3,000 to 600, allowing for 90-minute visits, true price transparency, and a focus on root-cause resolution. 

We also discuss the clinical benefits of having time to care, including using ketogenic therapies to treat mental illness and reversing chronic metabolic disease, rather than just managing it with pills.

If you want to understand why your doctor is exhausted, why your premiums are going up, and why DPC is the solution we can't afford to ignore, listen to this episode.

Thank you to our 2026 sponsors!

ParetoHealth: ParetoHealth empowers midsize employers with a long-term solution to reduce volatility and lower overall health benefits costs. Visit ParetoHealth.com to learn more.

Samaritan Fund: A program that connects those who need help to the support they need. We are proud to offer the Samaritan Fund Program. Visit SamaritanFundProgram.com to learn more.

Vālenz Health: We're Vālenz Health, your partner in improving health literacy, reducing plan spend, and delivering high-value healthcare. Visit ValenzHealth.com to learn more.

Imagine360: Imagine360 helps self-funded employers save on healthcare with smarter health plans. Cut expenses by 20-30% with custom solutions. Contact us today at Imagine360.com.

Chapters:

(00:00:00) Intro: The Link Between Diet & Mental Clarity 

(00:04:18) The Road to Burnout: 12 Years as a Hospitalist 

(00:09:17) "Is He Dead?": The Reality of Physician Suicide & Moral Injury 

(00:11:08) The Way Forward: Concierge vs. Direct Primary Care 

(00:15:35) The Math of Failure: Why 2,500 Patients is Unsustainable 

(00:21:16) "Click Fatigue" and the Administrative Burden 

(00:23:58) Leaving the System: Launching Steelman Medical Group 

(00:32:06) Saving the Profession: Why DPC Offers Work-Life Balance 

(00:40:12) True Transparency: Why DPC Lab Costs Are Dropping 

(00:48:58) The Luxury of Time: Treating Mental Health with Ketogenic Diets 

(00:59:32) The Statin Controversy & Insulin Resistance

Key Links for Social:

@SelfFunded on YouTube for video versions of the podcast and much more - https://www.youtube.com/@SelfFunded

Listen/watch on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1TjmrMrkIj0qSmlwAIevKA?si=068a389925474f02

Listen on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/self-funded-with-spencer/id1566182286

Follow Spencer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-smith-self-funded/

Follow Spencer on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/selffundedwithspencer/