Direct Doctors

About Direct Doctors

What is Direct Doctors?

Direct Doctors is a direct primary care practice with offices in East Greenwich and East Providence (Riverside), Rhode Island. Its women's health work centers on gynecology and menopause. Dr. Erin Kunkel, MD, leads that side of the practice. She is board certified in gynecology and obesity medicine and holds Menopause Society Certified Practitioner (MSCP) status. The practice says it has served Rhode Island patients since 2014 and now serves more than 1,800 patients.

Its two main services for people looking for hormone or weight care are hormone therapy for perimenopause, menopause and primary ovarian insufficiency, and weight management counseling with anti-obesity medications. It also offers contraception, well woman screening including PAP smears, evaluation of abnormal uterine bleeding and PCOS, and procedures such as IUD insertion and removal, endometrial and vulvar biopsy, and colposcopy. The prescribers named are Dr. Erin Kunkel, MD; Drs. Lauren and James Hedde, DO; Dr. Mark Turshen, MD; Dr. Sara Delaporta, MD; Dr. Laura Henseler, MD; Dr. Ashley Lakin, DO; and Dr. Emiko Ishihara, DO. Google reviews put the practice at 4.9 from 44 reviews. In its own words: "Women's healthcare with more time."

This listing is for its East Providence (Riverside) office at 502 Bullocks Point Avenue.

What does it cost?

Direct Doctors does not publish prices. No consultation fee, membership price, or medication cost is listed. The practice offers a membership and describes its services as included in that membership, but it does not say what the membership costs, how long a commitment runs, or how cancellation works. It also does not say whether medication is included in any amount. Call 401-400-2699 and ask for every figure in writing before you book.

What should you ask before you book?

Start with the membership. What does the fee cover, and does it include medication for weight management or hormone therapy? If medication is extra, ask whether the prescription is brand-name or compounded, which pharmacy fills it, and what it costs each month.

Ask what lab work and follow-up visits cost, and whether procedures such as IUD insertion, endometrial biopsy or colposcopy fall inside the membership. Ask who writes your prescription and whether you will see the same physician at each visit. Dr. Ashley Lakin is listed at the East Providence (Riverside) location together with Flora Family Health, so ask whether she is part of the Direct Doctors membership.

Finally, ask how cancellation works, whether telehealth is offered, and what the office hours are. None of those are published. Ask whether any care is billed to insurance too, since the practice does not say whether it accepts insurance.

Who is it a good fit for?

This is a good fit if you want gynecology and menopause care from a physician who can get to know your history over several visits, and you are prepared to get the cost and medication details in writing before you commit. If you need prices posted before you call, expect to do most of the asking yourself.

Sources: directdoctors.org/womens-health.html, directdoctors.org/blog/evidence-based-menopause-care-in-rhode-island-what-women-should-expect

Services Offered

Location