Best DPC Doctors in Allentown, Kutztown, and Reading, Pennsylvania

Finding a primary care doctor in the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania can be a challenge.

According to the Cicero Institute, 32 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties are health professional shortage areas (HPSAs). Furthermore, there are only 350 available primary care physician residency slots in Pennsylvania per year.

Of those residents, statistics show that 45.2% of them leave the Keystone State shortly after finishing their residencies.

That means there are already widespread shortages of primary care physicians, particularly as you get away from the large medical centers in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The Lehigh Valley areas around Allentown, Kutztown, and Reading are significantly affected.

Meanwhile, traditional primary care practices and pediatric clinics are overwhelmed. New patients sometimes have to wait weeks for an appointment – if the doctors are taking new patients at all.

That’s why direct primary care practices can be such a relief: These practices don’t take insurance. Instead, they operate by subscription. Patients simply pay a flat, affordable, predictable monthly fee. In exchange, they receive an unlimited number of appointments with their primary care doctor, either in person or via telehealth.

By dropping the insurance middleman, DPC clinics can operate with a much lower patient load – enabling much more face-to-face time with their patients, and even allowing for same-day or next-day appointments with patients if need be.

The practice is becoming extremely popular. CCC Health of Kutztown, Pennsylvania is among the best in the region.

What is Direct Primary Care?

Direct Primary Care (DPC) is an increasingly popular healthcare model that focuses on providing personalized, comprehensive primary care services for a flat monthly or annual fee.

Unlike traditional insurance-based practices, DPC eliminates the need for billing insurance companies. This eliminates a huge source of administrative overhead for small practices, which allows doctors to spend much more Facetime with patients and focus on their individual health needs. 

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Why Choose Direct Primary Care?

Accessibility

Patients can reach their DPC provider via phone, text, or email, including evenings and weekends for urgent matters. Appointments can be in-person, via phone, or video chat, ensuring flexibility and convenience.

Longer Appointments

In traditional practices, the average face-to-face time with a primary care physician is around 18 minutes. This often isn’t enough to address all health concerns, provide thorough education, and answer questions. DPC allows physicians to create their own schedules, offering appointments that range from 30 to 60 minutes based on patient needs. This also means the doctor can focus entirely on the patient without being distracted by administrative tasks.

Availability

Patients can schedule same-day or next-day appointments, which is crucial for addressing acute health issues promptly. This reduces the need for costly urgent care visits, as most acute needs can be managed directly by the DPC provider.

Cost Transparency

DPC operates on a monthly fee structure that covers a wide range of services. There are no copays, hidden fees, or confusing medical bills to decipher months later. Patients always know the cost upfront, ensuring clear and predictable healthcare expenses.

Discounted Labs

DPC members benefit from significantly reduced prices on lab tests, often less than $10 each. This can be more cost-effective than using insurance for these services.

Discounted Medications

Many commonly prescribed medications are available at a fraction of the cost found in retail pharmacies. This includes chronic medications, with savings often covering the cost of the DPC membership fee itself.

Personalized Care

Patients see the same doctor at each visit, allowing for a deep understanding of their medical history. This continuity of care ensures a personalized approach to health and well-being, treating each patient as an individual rather than a number.

Discounted Imaging

DPC providers often offer discounted imaging services, making state-of-the-art diagnostic procedures more affordable and accessible. This commitment ensures that high-quality healthcare is within reach for everyone.

1. CCC Health, Kutztown, PA

Located in Kutztown, about 17 miles from both Reading and Allentown, CCC Health has been a leading voice for healthcare pricing transparency and healthcare freedom.

The “Three Cs” stand for “competent, compassionate care.”

The practice CCC Health is owned and operated by a husband and wife team of two experienced doctors: Dr. Chaminie Wheeler and Dr. Greg Wheeler, both long-time residents of the area.

CCC Health provides all the standard in-office procedures you would normally expect of a primary care physician. Additionally, Dr. Greg Wheeler is a highly-respected doctor of emergency medicine, while Dr. Chaminie Wheeler has a wealth of experience in pediatrics.

The combination of emergency skills and pediatrics makes CCC Health an excellent solution for families with children who need primary care for both children and adults – all under one simple, transparent, easy-to-understand monthly subscription.

There are no insurance deductibles, co-pays, or coinsurance costs to worry about for an appointment. Once you’re a member, you can see your doctor as often as you need to without having to worry about incurring more out-of-pocket costs.

There may be costs for services that occur outside CCC Health’s offices, such as lab costs and imagery. However, CCC Health patients receive substantially discounted pricing for these and other services.

Meet the Physicians

CCC Health is owned and operated by a husband and wife team of two doctors: Dr. Chaminie Wheeler and Dr. Greg Wheeler.

Dr. Chaminie Wheeler

Dr. Chaminie Wheeler is a dedicated pediatrician with a lifelong passion for helping children.

Her journey into medicine began in high school as a volunteer for “Happy Club,” fundraising for Operation Smile. She earned a double major in Mathematics and Biology at Virginia Wesleyan College, combining her love for logic with her fascination for human development.

Dr. Wheeler received her Doctorate in Osteopathic Medicine from Des Moines University and completed her Pediatric Residency at Blank Children’s Hospital. As a Board-Certified Pediatrician, she has extensive experience in Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Pediatric and Neonatal Hospital Medicine, and high-risk deliveries.

She is a strong advocate for children and believes in restoring trust in medicine through the physician-patient relationship. Dr. Wheeler is committed to ensuring her patients have control over their healthcare decisions and promotes price transparency to foster patient choice.

Embracing the Direct Primary Care model, Dr. Wheeler aims to provide holistic care, seeing medicine as a field full of potential and positivity.

Dr. Greg Wheeler

Dr. Greg Wheeler is a dedicated problem-solver with a background in Mathematics and Computer Science from Virginia Wesleyan College and a Master’s in Computer Science from the College of William and Mary.

He applied his skills at NASA and Mid-American Energy before pursuing medicine, earning his Doctorate in Osteopathic Medicine from Des Moines University and completing an Emergency Medicine Residency at St. Luke’s Hospital.

As a Board-Certified Emergency Medicine Physician, Dr. Wheeler has extensive experience in both Level 1 Trauma Centers and rural hospitals. Witnessing the inefficiencies of emergency departments, he now focuses on keeping patients out of the ED by providing thorough and preventive care.

Dr. Wheeler advocates for the Direct Primary Care model to restore the doctor-patient relationship, emphasizing time and trust to address the root causes of health issues. His goal is to make wellness the foundation of medicine, ensuring patients enjoy optimal health.

CCC Health: Advocates of Healthcare Freedom and Your Right to Choose

Dr. Chaminie Wheeler made local headlines during the height of the COVID pandemic, putting her job on the line to advocate for the freedom of individuals to choose for themselves whether to take a vaccine.

The Wheelers aren’t anti-vaxxers generally, but they oppose government and employer mandates that infringe on the freedom of individuals to make medical decisions for themselves.

Both Wheelers defied an employer mandate from St. Luke’s Hospital requiring all medical staff to take the COVID-19 vaccine.

CCC Health Services Offered

Both practitioners offer a wide range of primary care and pediatric in-office procedures and services, including:

Some services may involve surcharges, even for members.

CCC Health Information for Medicare Patients

If you’re currently on Medicare, you can see Dr. Chelminie Wheeler, but not Dr. Greg Wheeler. Chelminie has “opted out” of Medicare.

This means she does not accept direct assignment from Medicare for services rendered. But you can still be reimbursed.

Dr. Greg Wheeler is still seeing patients elsewhere outside of CCC Health as an emergency medicine doctor, and therefore cannot take on Medicare patients directly.

Pricing

All new memberships incur a one-time $75 enrollment fee.

Contact CCC Health

Location: 15530 Kutztown Road, Kutztown PA 19530

Tel: 484-646-3900

Fax: 484-646-3901

2. Arrow Primary Care, Bethlehem, PA

Established in 2019, Arrow Primary Care is located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, just east of Allentown.

Founder, owner, and medical director Dr. Michael Carnathan started his private DPC practice in order to provide a better healthcare experience for his patients, whom he believes are poorly served by traditional insurance-based models.

As a patient of Arrow Primary Care you will receive access directly to your doctor via office visits, email, texting, or phone calls, Dr. Carnathan vows.

“What you will not receive is an insurance company dictating what can and cannot be done for your health,” he says. “That is between you and the doctor. We feel patients deserve ample time to explain their concerns and understand their treatment plans. That’s why all patients will have up to 1-hour office visits.

Meet Dr. Carnathan

Dr. Michael Carnathan is a Board-Certified Family Physician dedicated to providing personalized care through his Direct Primary Care practice in the Lehigh Valley.

He earned his undergraduate degree from St. Bonaventure University and his medical degree from St. George’s University School of Medicine.

After completing his residency at Chestnut Hill Hospital, where he served as Chief Resident, Dr. Carnathan practiced briefly in Rhode Island before settling in the Lehigh Valley in 2013.

Throughout his years in the traditional insurance-based health system, he found that meaningful patient interactions were increasingly challenging. This realization led him to establish Arrow Primary Care in 2019, a Direct Primary Care practice designed to foster a deeper doctor-patient relationship.

Outside of his medical practice, Dr. Carnathan enjoys spending quality time with his supportive wife and two sons. They love traveling, exploring the local cuisine, swimming, and socializing with friends.

Services and Procedures

Arrow Primary Care offers a full suite of primary care services and procedures, including:

Pricing

A one-time registration fee of $70 applies per person.

Contact

Location: 2223 Linden St., Suite 2, Bethlehem, PA, 18017

Phone: 484-626-0121

Email: [email protected]

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3. Freedom Doc Peak Integrative Medicine, Orwigsburg, PA

Freedom Doc Peak Integrative Medicine takes a different tack from most DPC practices.

Their focus is on integrative medicine–– an innovative approach to healthcare that combines conventional Western medicine with complementary and alternative therapies. Integrative medicine practitioners aim to treat the whole person—mind, body, and spirit.

This method aims to address the root causes of illness and promote overall wellness rather than merely treating symptoms.

The direct primary care model lends itself well to integrative medicine due to the lower patient loads. The longer appointment times allow for deeper and more involved conversations with patients, enabling doctors to probe for the underlying causes of a variety of physical ailments, and to educate and coach patients on more advanced therapies and treatments.

If you’ve been feeling unwell for some time, and conventional doctors haven’t been able to help, an integrative medicine specialist may be able to bring the perspective you need to get to the bottom of it.

Consider Freedom Doc Peak Integrative Medicine if you need help with any of these issues:

Meet The Doctors

Dr. Touchinsky, DC, CFMP

As founder and CEO of Freedom Doc Peak Integrative Medicine, Dr. Touchinsky has been practicing in and serving the community of Orwigsburg for more than 15 years.

He is a chiropractor by background, as well as a functional medicine practitioner. As such he focuses on outside-the-box approaches and innovative strategies to help people preserve and maintain their health, and to recover effectively from accidents and illnesses.

Dr. Touchinsky started his DPC practice after realizing that the chiropractic approach by itself was not sufficient to fully address his patients’ needs. His patients frequently presented with issues rooted not just in back pain or spinal misalignment, but also in poor nutrition, lack of sleep, sedentary lifestyles, and many other issues.

But the traditional medical system wasn’t addressing these underlying causes, either. And too many patients were falling through the cracks.

Dr. Touchinsky saw the need, and decided to become certified in functional medicine.

After completing his studies, Dr. Touchinsky recruited and trained a team of like-minded health professionals that continue to work with him and his patients.

Liana Rodriguez, D.O., IFMCP

Dr. Liana Rodriguez, the Medical Director, is a certified Osteopathic physician, and a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. Her focus is on helping patients preserve their healthcare by addressing the root lifestyle causes of medical ailments.

The idea is to get at the underlying causes of chronic and acute medical conditions, and not simply treat a problem with a quick prescription and send the patient on their way.

Brandon Aucker, DC, MS, PSP

Dr. Auker, another chiropractor, is the practice’s Director of Chiropractic and Physical Medicine.

He believes in focusing on patient education and the use of new techniques to address musculoskeletal imbalance, posture, and movement disorders. The idea is to restore the patient to pain-free movement, thereby vastly improving quality of life.

Services Offered

Pricing

A 10% discount applies to annual payments.

Contact

Location: 1120 Centre Turnpike, Orwigsburg, PA 17961

[email protected]

Check out our Pennsylvania Direct Primary Care: 2025 Complete Guide to learn more.