The Budget DPC Tech Stack
Everything you need to launch a DPC practice for under $200/month
About This Stack
Launching a DPC practice is an exercise in financial discipline, and your technology stack should reflect that reality without compromising on the core capabilities you need to deliver excellent care. This budget stack is built around Atlas.md as the central platform, supplemented by affordable and free tools that fill the gaps in scheduling, communication, telehealth, and marketing. The total monthly cost of approximately $187 keeps your technology overhead minimal while you focus on the more important work of building your patient panel and establishing your practice. The trade-offs at this price point are real but manageable. You will not have AI-powered documentation assistance, your phone system will be basic, and your fax capabilities will be limited. But you will have a functional, DPC-native EMR with membership billing, a professional communication setup, and telehealth capability, which is genuinely enough to get started. As your practice grows and revenue stabilizes, the natural upgrade path leads toward the Standard stack, where Hero EMR's comprehensive feature set eliminates many of the manual processes and tool-juggling that this budget configuration requires.
What's Included
Atlas.md
Atlas.md serves as the foundation of this budget stack, handling clinical documentation, membership management, billing, and basic patient communication in a single platform. Its DPC-native design means you will not waste time configuring around insurance-oriented workflows, and the included membership billing eliminates the need for a separate payment processing platform. The clinical charting tools are basic but functional, and the integrated secure messaging covers most routine patient communication needs. At $149 per month, it is one of the most affordable all-in-one solutions available for DPC practices.
Google Workspace
Google Workspace Business Starter provides a professional email address at your practice domain, a calendar system for internal scheduling, cloud storage for practice documents, and the full suite of Google productivity tools. While not HIPAA-compliant by default for patient communications, Google will sign a Business Associate Agreement for Workspace accounts, making it suitable for internal practice operations and appropriately configured patient-related use. The calendar integrates with most scheduling tools, and the storage provides a reliable backup for non-clinical practice documents.
Google Voice
Google Voice provides a dedicated practice phone number with voicemail transcription, call forwarding, and basic auto-attendant functionality at a fraction of the cost of traditional business phone services. While it lacks the sophistication of AI-powered phone agents or HIPAA-specific phone platforms, it handles the basic communication needs of a small practice competently. Calls can ring on your personal phone without revealing your personal number, voicemails are transcribed and emailed, and the auto-attendant can provide basic routing during and after business hours.
Docsink (Free Tier)
Docsink offers a free tier that includes a limited number of inbound and outbound faxes per month, which is typically sufficient for a small DPC practice that has intentionally minimized its interactions with insurance companies and referral networks that still rely on fax communication. The HIPAA-compliant platform stores faxes securely and provides basic organization tools. As your practice grows and fax volume increases, the paid tiers offer additional capacity at reasonable prices.
Zoom (Free Tier)
While the free tier of Zoom has limitations (40-minute meeting cap for group calls), it is adequate for one-on-one telehealth encounters with DPC patients, which are not subject to the group meeting time limit. Zoom will sign a BAA for paid accounts, so practices handling sensitive telehealth discussions should consider upgrading to a paid plan for full HIPAA compliance. For the budget stack, the free tier provides a functional starting point for video visits while you build your patient panel and revenue.
Canva (Free Tier)
Creating professional-looking patient education materials, social media content, and marketing collateral is straightforward with Canva's free tier. The platform includes medical-themed templates, a drag-and-drop editor, and enough functionality to produce materials that look polished without requiring design skills or an expensive graphic design subscription.