Speaker Dr Cara Harrop

I began my love affair with medicine and caring for families when I was six years old.  I carried my Fisher Price hospital everywhere and was always willing to “doctor” anyone who needed attention.  After completing a Bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology at the University of Wyoming, I went on to graduate from the University of Kansas School of Medicine with honors as the outstanding Family Medicine Graduate.  After completing a Family Medicine residency in Colorado, I landed in Montana and have been practicing medicine in the Mission Valley for 21 years.  Fifteen years into my career, I was frustrated that patients could not afford or access primary care.  The fee for service payment system kept me from leveraging my relationships with patients to improve community health because it focused on volume and not value.  In 2018, I completed a Master’s degree in Healthcare Innovation and set out to bring change to healthcare, starting with the payment model.  I opened pureHealth, a Direct Primary Care practice, in 2018 and fell in love with medicine all over again.  This journey has demonstrated that more than 80% of healthcare can be provided for a fixed monthly fee outside of a third-party payer system and that, when patients have unrestricted access to a trusted healthcare provider, they are more engaged in their health and proactive about seeking care.  This benefits everyone – individuals, communities, employers and the healthcare system.