What is DPC?
DPC is an alternative way to access primary care. Rather than paying by the visit, you will pay a low monthly fee to access your primary care physician when and where you need him. Though most things can be handled during office hours, if you have an after-hours question or urgent issue, Dr. Bilyeu will be there for you. If you want to have a phone or video visit, we can do it! If you need a quick question answered via text messaging, we can do it! By working outside the insurance industry (your monthly fee is not covered by any insurance at this time), we can greatly reduce the cost of healthcare and get rid of hidden costs. At its very basic level, DPC is an agreement between you and your doctor. Dr. Bilyeu works for you, not your insurance company.
Click HERE to watch a quick video explaining the basics of DPC.
What is OMT and how could you benefit from it?
The American Osteopathic Association defines OMT as being, “a set of hands-on techniques used by osteopathic physicians (DOs) to diagnose, treat, and prevent illness or injury. Using OMT, a DO moves a patient’s muscles and joints using techniques that include stretching, gentle pressure and resistance.” OMT focuses on total body health by assessing and treating the musculoskeletal framework, which includes the connective tissues, joints, muscles, spine and skull. The goal is to positively affect the body's nervous, circulatory and lymphatic systems by improving any restriction in their environment, which could inhibit their function.
Benefits include improvement in pain or discomfort, improvement in flexibility and strength, improvement in numbness or tingling, improvement of swelling, improvement in organ system function, relief from headaches/migraines, decrease in headache/migraine frequency and enhancement of the body’s natural healing mechanisms. Benefits may vary significantly from patient to patient depending on their specific diagnoses and past medical/surgical history.
Meet Brandon Bilyeu, DO
I am an Osteopathic Family Medicine Physician who was born in Billings, MT and was raised just outside of Red Lodge, MT in the rural community of Luther. I went to college at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, SD and went to medical school at Pacific Northwest University College of Osteopathic Medicine. My Family Medicine Residency training was in Missoula and Kalispell, MT at the Family Medicine Residency of Western Montana. After completing residency, my wife, our 6 month old daughter and I moved to Helena. We’ve added another daughter since then and the four of us are so happy to call Helena home.
Once I discovered the philosophy of osteopathic medicine and how DOs are trained to promote the body’s natural tendency toward self-healing and health I knew this was the path for me. I love OMT and its ability to treat problems that can cause pain/dysfunction when patients would often just receive a medication addressing symptoms and not the problem. I strongly connected with the Tenets of Osteopathic Medicine, which include: 1) The body is a unit; the person is a unit of body, mind and spirit. 2) The body is capable of self-regulation, self-healing and health maintenance. 3) Structure and function are reciprocally interrelated. 4) Rational treatment is based upon understanding of the basic principles of body unity, self-regulation and the interrelationship of structure and function. I think my osteopathic training has given me extensive knowledge, useful treatment tools like OMT, but most importantly I learned to see a patient as a person to team up with and not a problem to fix.
What are my favorite aspects of practicing medicine?
I love getting to know people and their families! Building a strong and trusting relationship with patients is at the center of my practice. I don’t just want to know people’s medical issues. I want to know about their lives, who their families/friends are and what they do for fun, as I truly believe a strong relationship between the doctor and patient produces the best health outcomes. I also enjoy putting people in control of their own healthcare. Often people assume their doctor wants the control, but I believe the doctor is a part of the healthcare team and the patient is the team captain. I am also intentional about creating treatment plans where the prescription is something like a personalized activity routine, a dietary change or a meditation regimen and not a medication. I acknowledge there are times when medications are beneficial, but often the best treatment for a problem in the field of primary care is a lifestyle change requires healthier daily decisions given a patient's thorough understanding of their diagnosis and plan, along with access to the proper resources. The DPC model gives me the ability to spend the time needed to get to the root of a problem, create a truly personalized treatment plan and follow up on how well the plan is working.
What are my favorite activities in my free time?
Like many Montanans I love the outdoors! I enjoy hiking in the backcountry, fly fishing, hunting, snowboarding, trail running, and rock climbing just to name a few. I hope to add mountain biking to this list soon. Spending time with my wife, Jodi, and my little girls, Austin and Maggie, is probably my favorite pastime. Meeting up with a friend at a local brewery is also a favorite, so it’s a good thing we have plenty of brewery options here in Helena. I have always enjoyed volunteering in my local community and I plan to take advantage of the numerous opportunities Helena provides allowing me to serve my fellow citizens.