Anup Desai, MD, PhD

Anup Desai, a physician at Coastside Family Medicine in Santa Cruz, California, built his practice around unhurried, personal care after growing frustrated with high patient volumes elsewhere. Raised in Pittsburgh, he followed in his mother's footsteps into medicine, completing a combined M.D./Ph.D. program before training in residency at the University of Pennsylvania and later moving west to California.

After twenty years practicing medicine in various settings, he found himself constrained by administrative demands that left little room for the doctor-patient relationship he wanted to build. Direct primary care let him start over on his own terms, with a simple monthly membership that keeps insurance out of the exam room and gives each visit room to breathe. He also works as a medical advocate, helping patients navigate a healthcare system that can be hard to make sense of alone.

He lives in Santa Cruz with his wife and daughters, and since moving to California he has taken up surfing, mountain biking, hiking, and skiing.