Meet Dr. Engebretson
Dr. Sally Engebretson is a board-certified Internal Medicine physician who has been practicing general internal medicine since 2001.
Born in Iowa, I was raised in the Plymouth, MN. I received my bachelors degree from Allegheny college in 1991, and received my Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from Des Moines University in 1997.
After completion of medical school, I spent a year doing a traditional “rotating” internship in Bronx, New York, followed by a 3 year internal medicine residency in Marshfield, Wisconsin at the Marshfield Clinic.
Upon completion of my residency, I joined Allina Health Isles Clinic in South Minneapolis, where I remained until 2018, when I joined Voyage Healthcare in Plymouth, MN.
I have been board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in 2001, 2011, and 2023 (late due to pandemic), and maintain in good standing.
During my years of practice, I have participated in mentoring medical students, PA and NP students on a regular basis.
I was awarded the Patient Communication Award for several years while at Allina Health, and have been awarded Minneapolis / St Paul Top Doctor many times, as well.
I aim to stay current with evolving medical literature and publications, and practice evidence-based medicine. However, I also consider myself to be open-minded, compassionate, and creative. I believe communication between doctor and patient is key…as Sir William Osler (19th century physician) first stated “Listen to your patient; he is telling you the diagnosis.”
“It is more important to know what kind of patient has the disease than what kind of a disease the patient has.”
~ Sir William Osler
It is no secret that traditional health care in the U.S. is failing both patients and physicians. Reimbursement by the insurance industry is best if we spend less time with patients to see a higher volume, and to manage complex care of patients when they are very ill. For many of us, these changes have slowly turned a much-loved career into a frustrating and unrewarding job constrained by endless paperwork and limited patient contact.
The Concept of Direct Primary Care
The concept of direct primary care (DPC) - started around the start of the 21st century and has been gaining momentum in the last decade. It is a model of healthcare based on a monthly membership – which is a direct payment to the physician - allowing for the exclusion of healthcare insurance reimbursement altogether. For many health insurance plans, which are not inexpensive, they require co-pays (from the patient) and then will deny payment to physicians if they believe there is insufficient evidence that the visit warranted the cost.
On the physician side, many other administrative specialists are hired to ensure the insurance companies will reimburse the physicians. And, in all of this, the patient receives little time and a large bill, while the physician receives payment only after a lot of paperwork, and no satisfaction of quality medical care administered. I have always believed in relationship and have come to appreciate that in the practice of medicine, this can be critical in the prevention of suffering.
I am an internal medicine doctor – a doctor for adults. I am a specialist in preventive care – and a “generalist” in all care.
I believe exceptional medical care comes down to the relationship between a doctor and a patient. At Insight Internal Medicine, I will focus on this relationship by limiting the number of patients in my practice. With easy access and longer visits, I will have time for you. If I don’t know you, I will get to know you. Getting to know you matters to me and to your health. I bring nearly twenty five years of experience and long-standing relationships to the most renowned specialists at both large and small medical groups in the Twin Cities area. My goal is to deliver personalized, comprehensive and coordinated care. At Insight Internal Medicine, I will restore primary care to the way it was intended to be.