Kicking Middle-Man Medicine to the Curb: Dr. Lola Ashaye Edition

Episode Overview

CFO-coach Tabitha Smith sits down with Dr. Lola Ashaye (MD), founder of InTouch Primary Care, to unpack how a membership-based clinic puts relationship-first healthcare—and profits—back on the table. No insurance handcuffs, no 15-minute factory slots, just proactive whole-person care.

Featured Guest

Dr. Lola Ashaye (MD) - InTouch Primary Care is board-certified in Family & Lifestyle Medicine plus Menopause specialty, running a direct primary care practice in Sugar Land, TX. She fired the insurance middleman after losing a thriving diabetes patient to a job-switch plan change—and built a model where changing jobs ≠ changing doctors.

What You'll Learn

Why She Fired the Middle-Man - Lost a patient when his new employer switched plans: "They told me you don't take my insurance anymore." Great outcomes vanished when insurers made the rules instead of doctors. Solution: flat-fee membership model that travels with patients, not employers.

How InTouch PC Works - Same-day and next-day access with unlimited calls, texts, and emails straight to Dr. Ashaye (no portal void). Metabolic health and lifestyle coaching baked in. Results: lower ER visits, tighter A1Cs, happier families—without insurance gatekeepers.

Lean Practice Tech Stack - AtlasMD handles EMR + billing in one window. Google Drive SOP library documents every task with weekly reviews. AI sidekicks (OpenEvidence, Heidi AI, Doximity dictation) slash charting time. Canva creates patient handouts; Wave handles DIY bookkeeping because the doc actually likes numbers.

Metrics That Matter - Member count and retention (people > profit). Monthly recurring revenue and net margin. Marketing conversion from talks, podcasts, and community events. Operational speed—how fast non-clinical tasks get completed.

Work-Life Operating System - Morning ritual: prayer, quiet thinking, quick workout before twins wake. Deep-focus clinic blocks with admin and AI handling heavy lifting. Evening routine "under construction," but family dinner is non-negotiable.

Growth Whiteboard - Add membership tier for men's metabolic health (wives keep asking). Leverage SOPs so summer volunteers slot in seamlessly. Host quarterly "Menopause Masterclass" to double inbound referrals.

Key Takeaways

• Direct primary care = relationships over reimbursement codes
• Membership model shields patients from job-switch insurance chaos
• AI tools reclaim hours from charting for actual patient care
• SOPs enable delegation and scale without losing quality
• People-first metrics (retention) predict profit better than volume

Book & Podcast Fuel

Books: Stories That Stick by Kindra Hall, The Gap and The Gain by Dan Sullivan & Dr. Ben Hardy, The New Menopause (patient book-club pick)

Podcasts: Menopause and lifestyle-medicine pods while charting

Who This Is For

Burned-out physicians tired of insurance paperwork, healthcare entrepreneurs exploring membership models, patients frustrated with 15-minute appointments, or anyone curious how direct primary care works financially and clinically.

TSAT Tell'em Tab—relationship-first healthcare meets CFO truth bombs.