Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Boylan, MD, FAAFP.
Hi Melissa, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
When I was choosing a medical specialty during medical school, it was a difficult decision! I enjoyed all the specialties I rotated through, but it was a family physician when I pictured a doctor. This idea may have been influenced by my avid watching of the TV show Dr. Quinn’s Medicine Woman or my personal experiences going to a doctor when I was growing up. Family medicine was not a popular specialty choice among my medical school classmates, but I was making the right choice for my career, and I have not regretted this choice for even a day since! I enjoy the primary care challenge – often being the first doctor someone sees for a medical problem. I enjoy creating a list of possible diagnoses and ruling each in or out. I enjoy evaluating my patients, using as much knowledge as possible before sending a patient off to see a specialist. I enjoy seeing patients of all ages – from birth to the end of life. One thing I did not picture in medical school was being a small business owner and opening my own family medicine office. However, when given lemons (the traditional healthcare system), I made lemonade (direct primary care)! I’ve learned so much over the past four years of owning Noreta Family Medicine, and I am very thankful to my patients, who support the practice and value the direct primary care model.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I only know a few small business owners with freshly paved roads to drive! Opening Noreta Family Medicine during COVID certainly provided all kids with unique challenges – from not knowing if the financial projections I created were realistic to figuring out how to do business tasks that were suddenly moved online (like obtaining a business license!) to the medical challenge of keeping up with the latest COVID research. However, I made it through and learned my first lesson in business – it’s ok to adapt as I go. The challenging hiring environment of the past few years has forced me to become creative and more flexible in finding staff for the office. This turned into a blessing because I believe my new strategy of hiring recent college graduates applying to medical school is a win-win approach. Also, opening a practice that focuses on flexibility, accessibility, and transparency in a city ruled by staunchly opaque and inflexible medical behemoths was daunting. However, one of the most satisfying parts of my job is explaining how Noreta Family Medicine works and hearing the common reply, “Wait, that type of primary care office exists? Sign me up!”
Let’s switch gears a bit and talk about your work. What should we know?
Noreta Family Medicine is a Direct Primary Care office in Columbia, SC. We offer medical services you can expect to find at most family medicine offices, but how we charge for our services and the services we provide are different. We charge a health insurance-free monthly subscription fee to our patients. We offer more time with me (the doctor) during patient visits and convenient ways to communicate with our office, such as text messaging. We value transparency in pricing, which allows patients to budget for primary care needs, among many other benefits. We also offer deeply discounted lab studies and affordable medications. Our care at Noreta Family Medicine has become known as thorough and accessible. We are grateful to be able to offer care that patients are surprised by and thankful to receive. Our practice name means NO REd TApe, which is precisely what we are trying to fight against – the unnecessarily burdensome and complex traditional medical system that most of us have come to accept but are frustrated by. Direct Primary Care is an alternative model that prioritizes the doctor-patient relationship, as no third parties interfere with the care we provide.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I am very thankful for all of the small business resources that exist! I found my first mentor, Allen Brown, at the South Carolina Small Business Development Center (SC SBDC). Check out the SBDC near you for their free consultative services. Allen connected me with several local business owners. Columbia, SC, is filled with many small businesses, but I would be mighty lonely if I relied on only networking with local direct primary care offices! To expand my reach, I’ve become a sponsor of the “Small Business Saturday” radio show on a local station, 100.7 The Point. I’ve also found helpful social media networking opportunities with Direct Primary Care practices across the state and country. Perhaps the most surprising and fun network I’ve developed is the group of other local doctors, business owners, and Columbia residents I’ve met through founding and co-sponsoring Columbia’s first chapter of Walk with a Doc. We meet at the Saluda Riverwalk on the second Saturday of every month and host a short educational session followed by a walk of about one hour. You are invited!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://NoretaFamilyMed.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noretafammed/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NoretaFamMed
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-boylan-a8673657/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@noretafamilymedicine9778
