First Medical Associates

What First Medical Associates does

First Medical Associates (formerly Doctors First) is a Maryland-based, privately held primary care provider operating 11 walk-in clinic and primary care locations across the state, including Annapolis, Bowie, Columbia, Crofton, Frederick, Gaithersburg, Germantown, Glen Burnie, Greenbelt, Lutherville, Nottingham, Rockville, Severna Park, and Silver Spring. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Germantown, MD with 101–250 employees, the company delivers a unified outpatient model spanning primary care, walk-in urgent care, chronic disease management (diabetes, asthma, depression, gastrointestinal, geriatric), men's and women's health, STD testing, and annual physicals. Patients can access care via walk-in, same-day appointments scheduled through Zocdoc or the company's Inquicker-powered scheduler, or telemedicine virtual consultations, with all sites sharing an integrated Athenahealth electronic health record and patient portal that allows medical history to follow the patient across any location.

The underlying technology stack is entirely third-party: Athenahealth provides EHR, patient portal, and billing/payments; Zocdoc and Inquicker supply online booking; and ParkMobile handles parking at the Silver Spring site. There is no proprietary software, API, mobile application, or AI/ML capability disclosed; technology is used as an integration and accessibility layer rather than a differentiated platform. The company maintains HIPAA compliance with documented privacy practices, SSL-secured patient communications, and standardized medical record release and HIPAA Right of Access forms.

First Medical Associates generates revenue primarily through fee-for-service insurance reimbursements from Medicare, Medicaid, CareFirst BlueCross Blue Shield, Aetna, Cigna, United Healthcare, Humana, and Johns Hopkins Health, supplemented by self-pay patients charged $150 per consultation. Distribution is direct-to-consumer across Maryland, with marketing supported by location-specific local SEO, a content blog, and active social media presence on Facebook, X, Instagram, and LinkedIn. In June 2025, the company received a strategic investment from Latticework Capital Management with debt financing from PennantPark Investment Advisers to fund expansion of reach and services.

Name

First Medical Associates

Legal name

First Medical Associates

Website

https://drsfirst.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

First Medical Associates is a Maryland-based, privately held primary care provider operating 11 walk-in clinic locations statewide, offering direct-to-consumer primary care, walk-in urgent care, chronic disease management, and telemedicine to general adult, geriatric, and women's/men's health patient segments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Primary Care Services

NAICS

Offices of Physicians (except Mental Health Specialists) (621111), Ambulatory Health Care Services (621)

SIC

Services-Offices & Clinics Of Doctors Of Medicine (8011)

akta.pro primary industry

Retail & Walk-In Primary Care Clinics (HLAFAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

After-Hours & Walk-In Primary Care Clinics (HLAFADAH), Primary Care & General Medicine Virtual Care (HLALAAAA)

Keywords

• Primary care services
• Walk-in urgent care
• Telemedicine consultations
• Chronic disease management
• Preventive healthcare

Headquarters

HQ city

Germantown

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices14 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Insurance Reimbursements: First Medical Associates accepts most major insurance plans including Medicare, Medicaid, CareFirst BlueCross Blue Shield, Aetna, Cigna, United Healthcare, Humana, and Johns Hopkins Health. Revenue is generated through insurance reimbursements for covered medical services provided to insured patients.
2. Self-Pay Patients: Self-pay patients pay $150 per consultation for medical services not covered by insurance or for patients without insurance coverage.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

First Medical Associates operates 11 walk-in clinic and primary care locations across Maryland, delivering comprehensive primary care, urgent care, telemedicine, chronic disease management, and specialized care services (men's health, women's health, STD testing, dermatology, geriatric care). Patients access care through scheduled appointments, same-day walk-ins, and virtual consultations, with electronic health records integrated across all locations via the athenahealth platform.

Product overview

First Medical Associates is a healthcare services provider operating 11 primary care centers across Maryland, formerly known as Doctors First PC. The company offers a unified healthcare delivery model combining primary care, walk-in clinic services, telemedicine consultations, chronic disease management, and specialized care. Services include annual physicals, treatment for acute conditions (sore throat, UTI), management of chronic diseases (diabetes, asthma, depression), men's and women's health services, STD testing, skin care, and geriatric care. The integrated service portfolio is delivered through both scheduled appointments and walk-in visits, with telemedicine options for remote consultations, all supported by on-site laboratory and diagnostic tools at each location.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Primary Care Services

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• ZocdocminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFirst Medical Associates is listed on Zocdoc's platform for online appointment scheduling, enabling new and existing patients to book appointments through the Zocdoc marketplace.
• Specialist Physician NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst Medical Associates partners with hundreds of medically distinguished physician specialists for patient referrals and collaborative care coordination, enabling comprehensive treatment approaches.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Patient First: Operates a large network of walk-in urgent care and primary care clinics across the Mid-Atlantic including Maryland, offering nearly identical walk-in/no-appointment access, on-site labs, and primary care services—the closest direct competitor to FMA.
• Righttime Medical Care: Maryland-headquartered urgent care and primary care chain with multiple walk-in locations throughout the state, competing head-to-head with FMA on convenience-driven primary and urgent care visits.
• ExpressCare Urgent Care Centers: Multi-location walk-in urgent care and primary care provider operating throughout Maryland, offering similar same-day access, on-site diagnostics, and insurance acceptance.

Emerging players

• One Medical (Amazon): Membership-based tech-enabled primary care platform now backed by Amazon; competes with FMA for digitally-engaged primary care patients in the DC-Metro market and represents the growing national benchmark for convenience-driven primary care.

Broad incumbents

• Privia Health Group: National physician practice management and value-based care platform with strong Mid-Atlantic presence; not a direct clinic competitor but comparable as a scaled multi-state primary care operator with capital markets access.
• Adventist HealthCare: Regional Maryland health system operating primary care, urgent care, and specialty clinics across the state; competes with FMA for primary care patient panels while offering integrated hospital services FMA lacks.
• MedStar Health: Large not-for-profit health system with extensive primary care and urgent care footprint across Maryland and DC; competes for insured primary care patients while offering hospital-based referral capabilities FMA cannot match.
• CVS MinuteClinic: National retail clinic operator providing walk-in primary care and urgent care services inside CVS pharmacies throughout Maryland; captures lower-acuity visits that might otherwise flow to FMA's walk-in clinics.

Regional players

• Chase Brexton Health Care: Maryland-based multi-specialty primary care provider operating multiple locations across the state, serving a similar patient demographic with comparable primary care, chronic disease, and behavioral health services.
• Choptank Community Health System: Federally-qualified multi-site primary care provider in Maryland offering chronic disease management and primary care to underserved populations—an adjacent primary care model with comparable multi-location operations but different reimbursement structure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/1stMedicalAssoc
• Facebookfacebook.com/FirstMedicalAssociates
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/first-medical-associates
• Instagraminstagram.com/firstmedicalassociates

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about First Medical Associates