Utah

- In 2012 became the fourth state to pass DPC laws, which can be found in Utah Code § 31A-4-106.5.  Even with the passage of this law it would be wise to review Utah's Title 31A Insurance Code.

- Utah's "Medical Retainer Agreement" laws are generally helpful to DPC physicians, protecting them from "business of insurance" accusations.  The main concern with this legislation is mirrored in some other earlier versions of state legislation as well.  The language failed to distinguish DPC and concierge, instead lumping the groups together in the "retainer" category for the purposes of the bill.  Practices that charge the same patients a membership fee and bill that patient's insurance for each visit do not appear to carry the same "business of insurance" risk and thus do not require a definition protecting them from insurance commissioner inquiry.

- In Office Dispensing:  Note that Utah is one of the harshest states when it comes to the freedom to dispense medications from the office.  The state previously had a total prohibition of in office physician dispensing.  Modifications occurred in 2014 and 2015.  As described in Utah Code Section 58-17b-801 to 58-17b-806 all physicians are now permitted to submit an application for a license as a "dispensing medical practitioner." These code sections are now part of the entire Utah Pharmacy Practice Act. If the license is obtained the physician will now be able to dispense only "cosmetic drugs," "injectable weight loss drugs," or a "cancer drug treatment regimen."  These exceptions do not do much for most DPC practices.  On-site "employer sponsored clinics" receive favorable treatment and are permitted to dispense routine medications that are "prepackaged drugs" that are provided "in a fixed quantity per package by a pharmaceutical wholesaler or distributor."  My interpretation - if you want to open a DPC practice in Utah where you can dispense medications, then you need to do it as an onsite clinic treating only employees (not open to the general public) and you need to be able to dispense the medications without the use of a pill counter (which obviously requires repackaging - a prohibited move).  For those that which to prescribe controlled substances (not a practice I recommend) additional rules apply.  Here is the link to the Dispensing Medical Practitioner application.  Here is a link to the Dispensing Medical Practitioner Clinic application.