Meet Eva Mackey, MD | Family Physician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Eva Mackey, MD and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Eva, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
When I started Gem MD, I had been a family physician working for Baylor for almost 15 years. I was very aware that the medical system was broken, Patients can’t get appointments, they spend forever in the waiting room, they only get 5 minutes with their doctor and can’t get all of their needs addressed. The costs were also out of control. Insurance premiums were higher than ever but insurance was covering less and less. Patients never knew what kinds of bills they would be facing when they went to the doctor. Friends, of mine, other Baylor physicians had left Baylor for Presby in an attempt to escape these issues but at Presby they ran into the exact same thing. I came to the conclusion that the only way to improve quality and control costs in primary care was to get rid of three big bad players 1. Insurance 2 Medicare and 3. Large hospital systems. So I left Baylor to create Gem MD, a medical clinic that didn’t rely on any or those things. Gem MD is a direct primary care clinic. An affordable monthly membership gets patients unlimited access to care. They don’t pay for office visits and they have open access to their physician through telemedicine, email and text messaging. Costs are kept under control and there is price transparency.

What should our readers know about your business?
It was not easy to do what I did! I was a single mother of three and the only source of income. I went from a 6 figure salary to making nothing. I didn’t do this for money. I did it because I am passionate about providing quality primary care at an affordable price. I sold my house and lived off of the money for the first year. I built the practice by connecting with people in the community. The individual bonds that I created with people and the relationships are what have made this a success. I am grateful to the Rockwall Chamber of Commerce and Master Networks Chapter. Creating a presence on Facebook was also important.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We would stay right here in Rockwall because this is a wonderful community! On Monday we would have dinner at Pier 101 on the square and then walk down to the Rockwall Community Play House to see a show. On Tuesday we would rent a boat from Chandler’s Landing and spend the day on Lake Ray Hubbard. On Wednesday we would tour Rockwall’s Vineyards and have dinner at Incognito, Rockwall’s best kept secret. On Thursday we would browse the shops and restaurants at the Harbor and enjoy a concert on the lake. On Friday we would enjoy the live music at San Jacinto Square and dine at Zanata. On Saturday, we would hit Siren Rock Brewing Company.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to give a shout out to the direct primary care physician community. I stay connected to them through Facebook and they are a great source of information and advice. The most influential physician in this group for me has been Josh Umbehr, creator of Atlas MD.

Website: www.rockwallsgemmd.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evammackey/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rockwallsgemmd

Image Credits
Heather Nichols