Board-certified family physician Dr. Tony Tran didn’t set out to build just another medical practice. He set out to build the kind of practice he wished more of his own patients had access to. The result is Transcend Medical, a direct primary care practice that offers a very different experience from the traditional 15-minute, in-and-out visits many patients are used to.
It’s a bold model to launch, and, as Dr. Tran found out, one that requires the same level of care behind the scenes as it does in the exam room, right down to how he chose the team protecting his new practice.
A Different Kind of Family Doctor
Dr. Tran’s background is in family medicine. Over the years, he’s cared for patients across outpatient clinics and hospital settings, treating individuals at every stage of life. Those experiences gave him a firsthand view of both the strengths of modern medicine and the opportunities to intervene earlier through prevention, education, and long-term relationships.
His osteopathic training reinforced the importance of treating the whole person—not just individual symptoms—a philosophy that naturally aligns with the Direct Primary Care model.
“One of the biggest enjoyments I’ve had as a doctor is the connections I have with my patients,” he says; the follow-up questions, the small talk about family, the moments that don’t fit into a 15-minute slot. Traditional insurance-based primary care often leaves physicians with limited time to build those kinds of relationships. So he decided to build a practice that was.
What Makes Transcend Medical Different
Transcend Medical is a direct primary care practice centered on prevention, lifestyle medicine, and personalized relationships. Rather than charging annual concierge retainers or billing insurance for every visit, patients pay one transparent monthly membership that they can cancel at any time, in exchange for direct access to their physician whenever they need it.
Rather than waiting for disease to develop, Dr. Tran emphasizes nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress management, and preventive care as foundational components of long-term health. The idea is that many chronic conditions can often be addressed earlier through healthy habits and preventive care, sometimes reducing or delaying the need for medication.
It’s a different approach to primary care, and Dr. Tran knows that nothing about launching it could be left to chance.
Personalized Care, Personalized Coverage
What he found, working through it, was a process that looked a lot like the one he was trying to build for his own patients. Instead of juggling separate applications across multiple carriers, MEDPLI’s Max gave him one portal and one point of contact. Questions got answered quickly. And there was, as Dr. Tran puts it, no such thing as a silly question.
Maybe that’s a small thing, but it’s one that mattered to a physician used to being handed a policy rather than asked what he actually needed. From the moment he had his options in front of him to the moment he had coverage in place took about one to two weeks, faster than he expected for a decision he wasn’t willing to rush.
MEDPLI works with physicians and practices across specialties, but the approach comes down to something simple: match people with coverage that actually fits how they practice, instead of routing them through a maze of carrier-by-carrier applications.
While Direct Primary Care is a well-established model nationally, it was still relatively new to the Belleair and Clearwater communities Dr. Tran serves, as well as the greater Tampa Bay area. Launching something different required careful planning and choosing partners who understood a practice that didn’t fit the traditional insurance-based mold. Coverage needed to be broad enough for the full scope of direct primary care and lifestyle medicine while remaining financially practical for a new independent practice without compromising on the one thing that mattered most: patient safety.
A Trailblazer, Cautiously Optimistic
Transcend Medical isn’t the only direct primary care practice in the country, but it’s the only one in the community Dr. Tran now serves. He knows that comes with a learning curve. Direct Primary Care and the role of lifestyle medicine are still unfamiliar concepts for many patients, and building something new usually means spending time explaining it before you get the chance to prove it.
Still, he’s optimistic. His goal isn’t just to run a practice—it’s to help build a healthier community through prevention, education, and lasting physician-patient relationships.
For Dr. Tran, success won’t be measured simply by the number of patients enrolled, but by helping people live healthier lives, preventing disease before it starts, and restoring the physician-patient relationship that inspired him to become a doctor.
That takes patience, and it takes finding the right people to build it alongside—a lesson he learned early, and one that shaped how he chose every partner along the way, MEDPLI included.
To learn more about Transcend Medical’s direct primary care model, or to see if it’s the right fit for your own care, visit transcendmedicaldpc.com.
FAQ
FAQ
Direct primary care (DPC) is a membership-based model of primary care where patients pay their physician a flat monthly fee, instead of billing insurance per visit, in exchange for expanded access to care. That typically means longer appointments, direct phone or text access to the physician, and no copays or surprise per-visit charges. DPC practices, like Dr. Tony Tran’s Transcend Medical, often combine this access model with a preventive, lifestyle-focused approach to care, addressing diet, sleep, and daily habits alongside traditional treatment, rather than limiting visits to brief, problem-focused appointments.
Direct Primary Care (DPC) and concierge medicine both emphasize stronger physician-patient relationships through longer visits, improved access, and a smaller patient panel. The primary difference lies in how care is financed. Concierge practices often charge a membership or retainer fee while continuing to bill a patient’s insurance for medical services, although models can vary. Direct Primary Care instead operates on a transparent monthly membership and generally does not bill insurance for covered primary care services. Patients continue to use insurance for services outside the practice, such as specialist care, hospitalizations, imaging, and emergency care. In short, concierge medicine typically supplements the traditional insurance model, while Direct Primary Care offers an alternative payment model for primary care itself.
New or nontraditional medical practices need specialized malpractice insurance because standard policies are typically built around conventional, insurance-billed care models and may not fully cover practices structured differently, such as direct primary care, lifestyle medicine, or other membership-based models. A policy needs to match a practice’s actual scope of services, not just its specialty label, or a physician can end up with coverage gaps in exactly the areas their practice differs from the norm. That’s why securing malpractice coverage is often one of the first and most important steps in launching an independent medical practice.
With premiums and indemnity payouts on the rise, MEDPLI is your best ally.
Don’t settle for inadequate coverage or exorbitant rates.
Get a Quote
About the Author
Max Schloemann is a medical malpractice insurance broker helping physicians and surgeons secure Medical Professional Liability coverage. A Magna Cum Laude graduate of Southern Illinois University’s College of Business, he was named Outstanding Management Senior.
Max began his career in 2008 at an industry-leading firm and founded MEDPLI in 2017 to guide private practice doctors and physicians in transition through the complexities of malpractice insurance.
Outside of work, Max, his wife Kristen (a Physician Assistant), and their four kids enjoy the outdoors and attending the kids’ sporting events. Contact Max for malpractice insurance questions.
Latest from the Medical Malpractice Insurance Blog
Read how board-certified family physician Dr. Tony Tran built Transcend Medical, a direct primary care practice, and worked with MEDPLI to find medical liability coverage tailored to his practice.
See 2026 Kansas medical malpractice insurance rates by specialty, carriers, payouts, and regulations. Get your custom MEDPLI quote today.
See 2026 Iowa medical malpractice insurance rates by specialty, carriers, payouts, and regulations. Get your custom MEDPLI quote today.
See 2026 Delaware medical malpractice insurance rates by specialty, carriers, payouts, and regulations. Get your custom MEDPLI quote today.
