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 This new office was opened by Dr. Dru Hauter, no stranger to
Lincoln. Dr. Hauter practiced medicine at Family Medical Center in
Lincoln from 1991 through 2001.
Trained as an internist at SIU, Dr. Hauter has done many different
kinds of medicine in his 29 year career, from being a general care
MD, to running a twenty six bed ICU unit, being a physician in an
urgent care practice treating sick and injured kids, and even
practiced occupational medicine where he sutured wounds, set
fractures and argued for work comp claims. Hauter, now 57, spent the
last two years in retirement, and came out of retirement because
this idea of Direct Care appealed to him and got his passion started
again.
Direct Care is not a new concept: it has been practiced in many
communities, but is new to central Illinois.
What is different about the Direct Care approach is that you get
direct, unlimited access to your doctor. You not only get to see him
in the office (by appointment), you get his cell phone number, his
email address, get to text him, and even can make video calls about
any medical issue, anytime, and talk to your doctor right away.
Hauter said, "It's like having a doctor in the family!" The goal is
always same day or next day care.
What you will experience when you have an appointment with a Direct
Care physician is that you have the doctor's full attention. Your
doctor is not tethered to a computer, but is instead in the room to
listen to you, pay complete attention to you, diagnose and interact
with you for as long as it takes.
With Direct Care, there is complete price transparency. You know
up-front how much any procedure will cost, what your drug prices
are, and how much testing will cost. Knowing your costs up front
means you can make better decisions about your medical care. Most of
the pricing is already on Central Illinois Direct Care's website,
including monthly membership fees and surprisingly low procedure and
test costs (the majority of listed costs are included at no extra
charge with your membership). The website can be viewed at
www.ci directcare.com.
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Direct Care patients pay an affordable monthly membership or subscription fee
for this service. If you need to see the doctor a second time during the month,
there is no additional fee.
Direct Care physicians do not accept insurance and Dr. Hauter has opted out of
Medicare, meaning he can treat Medicare patients who subscribe to his service.
Since no insurance is involved, no insurance company decides what procedures you
can have and can't have. The result with Direct Care is, we can get back to the
doctor-patient relationship where the doctor diagnoses, educates, treats and
advises the patient, letting the patient be in charge of their own medical
decisions.
Who should consider a Direct Care membership?
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People who want a close, flexible, all inclusive relationship
with a personal, competent, experienced physician with a heart
for people.
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People with high insurance deductibles or co-pay.
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People who currently pay cash or have no insurance coverage.
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People who have Health Share memberships or health savings
plans.
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People who have chronic conditions and health concerns, who want
and need more personalized care.
Since Central Illinois Direct Care can also dispense medication at a steep
discount, the monthly cost of the membership is often offset by the savings
patients experience on medication alone.
Dr. Dru Hauter is married to Dr. Marcia Hauter, who he met in his third year of
medical school and married in his fourth year of medical school. Together they
have two children, Emily, an ICU nurse in Springfield, and Ben, who will
complete medical school in May. They are also proud grandparents.
Central Illinois Direct Care is located at 1411 N. Kickapoo St. in Lincoln.
Their phone number is 217-632-6236. Office hours are flexible and available by
appointment. An initial consultation is free. You can also find Central Illinois
Direct Care on FaceBook.
[Jim Youngquist]
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