Advocare Stoll Medical Group Alternative: A Continuous-Care Doctor in Philadelphia

A new patient sat down last month and described the last 18 months of her care. She had seen three different providers at the same Center City group: an MD for the annual, a PA for the sick visit, a different PA for the medication refill. Each was kind. None of them connected the dots between her thyroid lab, the new statin, the sleep complaint, and the hormone shift. By the time she got to me, she was carrying a thick folder and a single question: who is actually in charge of my health? That question is the heart of why people start looking for an Advocare Stoll Medical Group alternative, or for any alternative to a large multi-provider Philadelphia group. It is not about the individual clinicians. It is about the structure of the practice they work inside.

What Is Advocare Stoll Medical Group?

Advocare Stoll Medical Group is a multi-provider primary care and specialty practice located at 1528 Walnut Street, Suite 950, in the Rittenhouse Square section of Center City Philadelphia. The practice was founded by Dr. Steven Stoll and joined the Advocare network in 2021. Advocare is a large physician-owned group that covers most of New Jersey and parts of Pennsylvania. The team is large by independent-practice standards. Verified providers include:

• Primary care physicians: Dr. Steven Stoll, Dr. Emily Friedman, Dr. Camron Daghigh, Dr. Melissa Kenig, and additional rotating physicians.
• Physician assistants: Madeline Baxter, PA; Jamie Lynn Whitesell, PA-C; Simone Northman, PA-C; Chris Esworthy, PA-C; Geena Galvagno, PA; Carmielle Friedman, PA-C.
• In-house specialty: Sharon Stoll, MD (neurology and neuro-immunology); Lyons, MD (sports and orthopedic medicine); Nicole Wolfset (allergy, asthma, and immunology); plus dermatology providers.

The practice accepts most major insurance plans (Aetna, BlueCross BlueShield, Cigna, Medicare, UnitedHealthcare, and 200+ others), takes copays at the time of service, and offers early-morning and evening appointments. It is, by most measures, a well-run example of the modern multi-specialty insurance-based group. That model has real strengths. It also has real trade-offs.

What Is the Structural Trade-Off in a Large Insurance-Based Group?

The trade-off in a large insurance-based group is the math that the insurance reimbursement model forces on every traditional practice in the country. It is not unique to Advocare Stoll Medical Group. It applies to Penn Primary Care, Jefferson Primary Care, the old Ninth Street office, and almost every group practice that bills insurance for its visits. The math, in plain terms:

• Panel size: A traditional primary care doctor in the United States carries a panel of about 2,000 patients on average, with a median around 1,500. A single doctor cannot know 2,000 people well.
• Visit length: Insurance pays the same fee whether a visit is 7 minutes or 70 minutes. The break-even math pushes most insurance-based primary care visits to 15 minutes, sometimes less.
• Provider rotation: To absorb the demand, large groups send patients to whichever physician or PA is open. Continuity becomes a coincidence, not a guarantee.
• Between-visit access: Calls go to a triage line, then a nurse, then sometimes back to a clinician 24 to 48 hours later. The doctor who knows you is rarely the one returning the message.
• Sick visits: Same-day sick visits are real, but they are usually with a different provider than your annual.

This is why patients describe the same experience across very different brands: long waits, rushed visits, and a vague sense that no one is steering the ship. A few patient reviews of Advocare Stoll Medical Group reflect this directly. One report on Wheree describes waiting over an hour past the appointment time, then 20 minutes in the room, then being seen for under 5 minutes. Another describes a clinician reading messages on a screen while the patient was talking. Other reviews are much more positive and praise specific physicians for being warm and thorough. Both can be true at the same time. Good clinicians inside a hard system produce a wide spread of patient experiences, depending on who they see and on what kind of day.

How Is a Continuous-Care Practice Structurally Different?

A continuous-care practice (also called direct primary care, or DPC) is structurally different because it changes the math at the foundation. Instead of billing insurance for visits, the practice charges a flat monthly membership directly to the patient. That single change cascades through every part of the experience. What it changes:

Feature	Large Insurance-Based Group	Direct Primary Care (Continuous-Care Model)
Patients per physician	About 1,500 to 2,500	About 400 to 600 typical, capped lower in many practices
Visit length	7 to 15 minutes typical	30 to 90 minutes typical
Continuity	Often rotates across MDs and PAs	Same physician every visit
Between-visit access	Phone tree → nurse triage → callback	Direct text or call to your physician
Same-day questions	Schedule with whoever is open	Usually resolved by text within hours
Annual visit	30 to 45 minutes	60 to 90 minutes
Sick care	In office, sometimes with a stranger	Text triage first, then virtual or in-person with your own doctor
Specialty navigation	Patient figures out next steps	The same physician quarterbacks every referral
Payment	Copay + claim against insurance	Flat monthly fee, transparent

The point is not that one model is better for every person. A patient who needs neurology, dermatology, orthopedics, and allergy under one roof, and who values insurance billing, may genuinely prefer a multi-specialty group. A patient who feels like nobody is connecting the dots usually prefers continuous care.

Guidance from the Clinic

What Does "Putting the Pieces Together" Actually Mean?

In a fragmented care environment, every appointment treats the symptom in front of the clinician. Putting the pieces together means treating the system that produced the symptom. Three concrete examples from the last few months in my Fishtown practice: 1. The new patient with a "high cholesterol" letter from her old practice. Her LDL was 142 mg/dL. The standard 15-minute response is to start a low-dose statin and re-check in 6 months. Putting the pieces together meant ordering ApoB, Lp(a), and a Cleerly coronary CT angiogram before deciding the right medication. ApoB came back at 138 mg/dL and Lp(a) at 95 nmol/L. We started a statin plus an ezetimibe, and we know now to be more aggressive about every other risk factor for the rest of her life. None of that fits in a 15-minute slot. 2. The professional in his 40s who "just needed his Adderall refilled." Three years on stimulants from a virtual mental health platform, no labs since 2022. Putting the pieces together meant a 90-minute visit that uncovered a fasting insulin of 14 (insulin resistance starts above 6), an A1C of 5.8, and a sleep score that explained 70% of the focus complaint. The Adderall got refilled. So did the conversation about what was actually driving the brain fog. 3. The new mom told her thyroid was "borderline." Her TSH was 4.2. In most insurance-based practices, that gets a re-check in 3 months and a wait. Putting the pieces together meant running Free T3, Free T4, Reverse T3, and TPO antibodies, plus iron studies and a postpartum mood screen. We caught early postpartum thyroiditis, started a low-dose treatment, and prevented 6 months of fatigue she would have otherwise carried while caring for an infant. None of those visits are about heroics. They are about time, continuity, and one physician holding the whole picture.

How Fishtown Medicine Compares to Advocare Stoll Medical Group

Fishtown Medicine is a small, independent direct primary care practice located at 2418 E York St in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia, about 2 miles northeast of Advocare Stoll's Rittenhouse office. The practice is run by Dr. Ash (Ashvin Vijayakumar, MD), board-certified in internal medicine, with a panel capped at 200 patients. The structural comparison:

	Advocare Stoll Medical Group	Fishtown Medicine
Model	Multi-provider insurance-based group (joined Advocare 2021)	Solo physician direct primary care
Location	1528 Walnut St, Center City	2418 E York St, Fishtown (plus home visits across Greater Philadelphia)
Providers	4+ MDs, 5+ PAs in primary care, plus in-house dermatology, neurology, orthopedics, allergy	One physician (Dr. Ash); referrals to vetted local specialists when needed
Continuity	Rotates across team based on availability	Same Dr. Ash every visit, every text
Payment	Insurance copays + co-insurance, accepts 200+ plans	Flat membership: $250/month, $685/quarter, or $2,500/year. HSA/FSA eligible
Visit length	15-minute slots typical for established patients	60 to 90 minutes for full visits
Direct messaging	Patient portal, callback system	Direct text and phone to Dr. Ash
Same-day care	Available with whichever provider is open	Triage by text within minutes during waking hours, virtual or in-person same day
Reviews	Mixed across Google, Zocdoc, Healthgrades	4.96 stars across 124 verified reviews
Insurance	Bills your insurance	Does not bill insurance for membership; helps coordinate insurance use for labs, imaging, prescriptions, hospital care

The most honest summary: Advocare Stoll Medical Group is a strong fit for someone who values multi-specialty access under one Center City roof and prefers insurance-based billing. Fishtown Medicine is a strong fit for someone who has hit the wall on rotating providers, 15-minute visits, and feeling like nobody is in charge of their health.

The Bottom Line

Advocare Stoll Medical Group is a well-known Center City practice with strong physicians, PAs, and in-house specialty access. The patient experience that frustrates some people there is not the fault of the clinicians; it is the math of any insurance-based multi-provider group with panels in the thousands and 15-minute visit slots. If that math has stopped working for you, the structural alternative is a continuous-care practice with one physician, a small panel, and direct access. Fishtown Medicine is one of those, in Fishtown, with Dr. Ash. The first call is free and the only goal is fit.

Key Takeaways

• Advocare Stoll Medical Group is a large multi-provider primary care and specialty practice at 1528 Walnut Street in Center City Philadelphia, part of the Advocare network since 2021.
• The fragmentation patients experience in any large insurance-based group is structural: high panel sizes, 15-minute visit slots, and rotation between providers.
• Direct primary care (continuous-care model) changes the math: a panel of about 200 to 600 patients, 30- to 90-minute visits, the same physician every time, and direct messaging access.
• Fishtown Medicine is one of those alternatives, run by Dr. Ash in Fishtown, capped at 200 patients, with a 4.96-star average across 124 verified reviews.
• You do not have to leave to test the fit. A free 20-minute Warm Invitation Call is the right first step.

Scientific References and Sources

1. Pereira Gray DJ, Sidaway-Lee K, White E, Thorne A, Evans PH. (2018). "Continuity of care with doctors-a matter of life and death? A systematic review of continuity of care and mortality." BMJ Open, 8(6), e021161.
2. American Academy of Family Physicians. "Direct Primary Care." AAFP policy reference, accessed 2026.
3. American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Physicians, American Osteopathic Association. "Joint Principles of the Patient-Centered Medical Home." Reference for typical primary care panel sizes.
4. Advocare Stoll Medical Group. Practice information at advocarestollmedicalgroup.com. Verified May 2026.

Medical Disclaimer: This article is an editorial comparison of two practice models in Philadelphia. It is not a clinical opinion about any individual physician or patient at Advocare Stoll Medical Group, which is a separate independent practice. Choosing a primary care practice is a personal decision that depends on your medical situation, insurance, and how you prefer to engage with your care. Consult Dr. Ash or your own clinician to determine the right fit for you.

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Dr. Ash is a board-certified internal medicine physician at Fishtown Medicine in Philadelphia. The practice runs on a continuous-care model: one physician, a panel capped at 200 patients, direct text access, and 60- to 90-minute visits.