National DPC Day is Nov. 1, and it's a chance for the whole Direct Primary Care community to collectively tell its story. But the most lasting DPC advocacy doesn't happen in a single day. It happens when clinicians show up in their own communities, online and in person, to help people see what primary care can look like.
Many patients, employers, and future clinicians have never heard of Direct Primary Care. As a DPC clinician, you're one of the most credible people to introduce it. You don't need a marketing budget or a big following to make a difference.
Here are four ways to engage your community in DPC this fall, and all year long.
Medical students and residents can finish training without ever seeing a Direct Primary Care practice up close. Giving them that exposure, whether in a lecture hall or in your own clinic, may plant the seed for the next generation of DPC clinicians. You can start small and build from there.
Give a talk at a local medical school or residency. Reach out to the family medicine residency program director, a clerkship director, or the school's family medicine interest group. Student interest groups are often looking for speakers. Offer a specific topic, such as "What practicing Direct Primary Care actually looks like" or "Paths into DPC after residency," rather than a general request to speak. Keep it to 30 to 45 minutes with time for questions. Students and residents tend to ask the practical ones: How did you start? How do you handle the business side? What would you do differently?
Host students or residents at your clinic. Invite a small group to tour your practice and see how it runs day to day. Walk them through how memberships work, how you set prices, and how your schedule leaves room for longer visits.
Offer a shadow day or internship. Let pre-med, medical, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner students follow you for a day, or set up a recurring internship or shadowing program with a local school. College pre-health advisers and student interest groups are good places to start. Choose days with a representative mix of visits, and end each one with a debrief about what surprised them.
How to plan the day:
Whatever format you choose, be honest about the challenges as well as the rewards. Students and residents trust candor more than a sales pitch. And if you can't get something on the calendar before Nov. 1, schedule it anyway. A confirmed date still counts as a win for your community.
Social media is one of the easiest ways to reach patients, employers, and clinicians who have never heard of Direct Primary Care. You don't need a polished content strategy or a big following. You need to share what practicing DPC is really like, in your own voice.
That might be a short video about what you love most about being an independent DPC clinician, a photo from your practice, or a post about why you chose this path. Whatever the format, the most effective content is personal and specific.
Tips for sharing DPC online:
Not sure what to post? Our free DPC Day Toolkit makes it easy for any DPC practice, whether or not you use Hint. It includes ready-to-post graphics for Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook, editable Canva templates with space for your logo, suggested captions, and patient-facing resources that explain what DPC is and how it works.
DPC Day celebrates the clinicians who practice direct care, but it's just as much about the patients who choose it. When patients share what's changed for them, from finally having time to ask questions to feeling like their doctor knows them, it shows your community what DPC makes possible in a way no clinician can.
Ways to put patients in the spotlight:
Patient privacy comes first. Get written authorization before sharing any patient's name, photo, story, or health information, and let patients see what you plan to post before it goes live.
Employers are some of the most important people to reach about Direct Primary Care. Many DPC practices work directly with local businesses to care for their employees, and business owners often hear about the model for the first time from a clinician in their own community.
DPC Day's timing helps here. Nov. 1 marks the start of Open Enrollment, when many employers and employees are already thinking about benefits and how they get care.
Ways to get involved:
What to bring: A short, plain-language explanation of how DPC works for employers and a few real examples of what care looks like in your practice. The DPC Day Toolkit includes ready-made Hint Connect handouts you can print or share: “HSAs + DPC,” “How DPC Saves Money,” and an employer trends infographic. Focus on the problems business owners already care about, such as access, predictable costs, and healthy employees.
Or host your own lunch-and-learn for local employers. Dr. Jade Norris of NSPIRE Primary Care in Las Vegas invites business owners with a staff of 10 or more to a lunch where she shares how local employers are building a smarter health care benefit, with better value for the business and better care for employees. Keeping the group small and the invitation specific helps fill the room with decision-makers.
Even one conversation with a local business owner can open the door to an employer partnership.
You don't have to do all four engagements. Pick the one that fits your schedule and makes the most sense for your community, and start there. A single talk, video, shadow day, or chamber event is enough to help someone new discover Direct Primary Care.
Then share your DPC story by Nov. 1, tag us, and use #DPCDay.
As a thank-you, everyone who shares by Nov. 1 is entered to win a trip to Hint Summit '27, April 7-9, 2027, in Scottsdale, Arizona.
We're also giving away a Hint swag bundle and five "care over codes" hats.
Entries close Nov. 1 at 11:59 p.m. PT. See the official giveaway rules below.
Official giveaway rules
No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited.
Who can enter: Legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 or older. Employees of Hint Health (“Hint”) and their households are not eligible.
When: Oct. 15, 2026, at 12:00 a.m. PT through Nov. 1, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. PT.
How to enter: Publish a public post on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, or X with a video, photo, or story about DPC. Tag @HintHealth and use #DPCDay. Each post counts as one entry, up to five entries per person. Don’t include any patient’s name, image, or health information without their written permission.
Prizes: All prizes are available to U.S. winners only.
Travel: The flight must be booked within one month of the grand prize winner being notified. The winner must share their preferred travel dates, times, and airline within that time. Hint will do its best to accommodate those preferences within the $700 airfare limit.
Taxes: Prizes can’t be transferred or exchanged for cash. Winners are responsible for any taxes on their prizes. The grand prize winner must provide a completed IRS Form W-9 and may receive a Form 1099.
Winners: Chosen at random from eligible entries on or about [date] and notified by direct message or email. Winners must respond within five days, or an alternate winner will be chosen.
Fine print: By entering, you allow Hint to reshare your post with credit. This giveaway is not sponsored, endorsed, or administered by, or associated with, Instagram, Facebook, Meta, LinkedIn, or X. Questions: social@hint.com.