Episode 44 - The Lean Startup: Running a Telehealth-Only DPC (with Dr. Shehzein Khan)

DPC| Primary Care| DPC Podcast| DPC Marketing

June 29, 2026•2 min read

Today my guest is Dr. Shehzein Khan, a family medicine physician in Irvine, California who launched her practice, Solace Primary Care, during her maternity leave and never went back to her panel of 1,700 patients. Dr. Khan is part of a growing group of physicians choosing to start DPC with a telehealth-first model, keeping overhead lean while building slowly and intentionally around a life that actually fits. We talk about how she heard about DPC through Instagram, why she resigned mid-maternity leave, and what it takes to set up a HIPAA-compliant telehealth practice from scratch. She explains why she believes in doing the uncomfortable thing, whether that’s posting the cringey first video, cold calling a sublease space, or launching your practice postpartum when the timing makes no sense on paper. If you’re a physician wondering whether you need a physical space before you can start, this conversation is for you.

IN THIS EPISODE

Telehealth first: the three things you actually need to set up and why keeping it lean matters

Malpractice insurance for a telehealth-only practice and what to ask before you commit to a carrier
What a telehealth DPC membership covers and how to explain labs, imaging, and outside care to patients
Scheduling around a 15-month-old and building a practice that bends around your life, not the other way around
Finding sublease space through physician mom groups, Facebook, Threads, and cold calls to specialists
Social media without the perfection: posting messy, using B-reels, and letting the algorithm find your people

Practice: Solace Primary Care

Location: Irvine, CA (Orange County)

Specialty: Family Medicine

Model: Telehealth DPC (transitioning to hybrid in-person)

CONNECT WITH DR. KHAN

Website: https://www.solaceprimarycare.com/

Instagram: @dr.shehzeinkhan

Facebook: Shehzein Khan

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Anne Gonzalez

Dr. Gonzalez was born in NYC, but grew up in Virginia. She graduated from the University of Virginia and Eastern Virginia Medical School before completing her Family Medicine residency and Geriatrics Fellowship in 2002 at USC in Columbia, SC. She worked in Morganton, NC for 5 years at Burke Primary Care. After that, she headed the Primary Care Department at A Woman's View for 13 years and taught part time at the Geriatrics Fellowship in Morganton. She appreciates the privilege of working with her patients to improve their health, independence, and quality of life. She is Board Certified in Family Medicine and has a Certificate of Added Qualification in Geriatrics.

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