Why Dr. Sarfaraz Dhanji Took Insurance Out of the Exam Room
A Jacksonville family physician left corporate medicine for direct primary care, betting that time and trust matter more than volume.
For many families, the monthly health insurance premium has turned into a trade-off. Pay it, or pay for groceries, rent and the other costs of daily life. Dr. Sarfaraz Dhanji, a family physician in Jacksonville, Florida, says no one should have to make that choice.
His answer was to change how his own practice works. After years in corporate medicine, Dr. Dhanji left to open Magnus Direct Primary Care, a practice built on direct primary care, a model in which patients pay the practice directly for ongoing access to their physician rather than running every visit through insurance billing.
"Medicine was never meant to be about numbers, quotas, or corporate profits. It was meant to be about people," Dr. Dhanji says. "I founded Magnus Direct Primary Care because I believe every patient deserves a physician who has the time to listen, the freedom to care, and the integrity to always put their well-being first."
His frustration with the traditional fee-for-service system built over years. He describes a model in which patients felt herded through the day and insurance companies, rather than clinical judgment, steered care. One practice in particular troubled him, insurers forcing a patient to switch medications because of a formulary change even when that patient was stable and doing well. In his view, insurers that make those decisions are, in effect, practicing medicine without a license.
The workload troubled him too. Physicians generate much of a health system's revenue, he notes, yet many are expected to work 14 to 16 hour days to support overhead and administrative layers that, in his experience, did little to improve the working environment or patient outcomes. He believes patient care has to stay in the hands of the physician, not the payer.
Direct primary care was his way out of that tension. By taking insurance mandates and volume pressure out of the relationship, Dr. Dhanji says, he can finally practice medicine the way it was intended. Decisions are made between the patient and the physician, without third parties in the room, and the pace of the day leaves time for a personal, respectful and attentive visit.
He sees benefits on both sides of the exam table. For patients, Dr. Dhanji says, direct primary care lowers the cost of care, improves access and care coordination and raises patient satisfaction. For physicians, he says, it brings a better quality of life and greater satisfaction with their practice.
The model also lets him push back on a misconception he hears often. Many patients assume family medicine is limited to coughs, colds and minor injuries. He points out that becoming a family physician requires training across the medical subspecialties, including surgical rotations. His own days involve managing chronic conditions such as asthma, COPD, diabetes, thyroid disorders, hypertension, heart disease and osteoporosis, along with orthopedic care. He also provides in-office services including basic wound care and minor surgical procedures.
That breadth matters more under a direct care model, where the primary care physician is meant to be the first and most frequent point of contact. When the same doctor manages a patient's diabetes, checks the wound that is slow to heal and handles the minor procedure, the patient has fewer handoffs and a physician who already knows the full history.
Dr. Dhanji has been in medicine for 18 years and is board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine. His practice was voted into the 2026 Best of Florida list for physician practices, and Jacksonville Magazine recognized him as a Top Doctor for 2026. A Guide to Florida profile described him as a doctor who answers the phone.
He measures the work differently than the system he left.
"After nearly two decades in medicine, one thing has never changed: the privilege of earning a patient's trust," he says. "My greatest measure of success isn't how many patients I see or how much revenue I generate. It's knowing that I've made a meaningful difference in someone's life while remaining true to the physician I always wanted to be."
Choosing a different model, he adds, was a matter of conviction. He believes physicians have a responsibility to stand by what they believe even when that means taking a different path.
The broader case he makes is about the relationship itself. Fee-for-service medicine, in his view, makes each visit a transaction. Direct primary care is built for longitudinal care, the same physician and patient over years, which he says builds deeper trust and better outcomes. He is advocating for more physicians to consider the shift, arguing that it lets doctors focus on what patients need rather than on the limits of insurance-based billing.
For the families weighing premiums against rent, his point is that primary care does not have to be the part of health care that is hardest to reach. In his practice, it is meant to be the part that is easiest.
About Dr. Sarfaraz Dhanji
Dr. Sarfaraz Dhanji, MD, is owner of Magnus Direct Primary Care in Jacksonville, Florida.
Family medicine. Board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine. 18 years in practice.
Reported, fact-checked and edited by The Script Pad's editorial staff. See How we use AI.
This article is for professional education and does not replace clinical judgment. Treatment decisions should be based on the individual patient and current guidelines.
