When Dr. Catherine Lok founded RiverRock Clinic, she envisioned a healthcare experience rooted in personal connection, accessibility, and respect. After witnessing the challenges of traditional medical settings, she set out to create a practice where patients could have direct access to their physician without the barriers of insurance or complex appointment scheduling. RiverRock Clinic offers a membership-based model that ensures patients receive attentive, high-quality primary care whenever they need it—whether through in-person visits, telehealth, or even a simple text message.
Despite the challenges of launching a business, including recovering from the devastating flooding of Hurricane Helene, Dr. Lok has found unwavering support in Asheville’s community. She continues to grow her practice, focusing on medically complex cases and providing compassionate care to all, including those in the LGBTQ+ community. In this Q&A, she shares the inspiration behind her clinic, the lessons she’s learned as a business owner, and her vision for the future of healthcare in Asheville.
Check out our Q&A with Dr. Lok below.
I’m Dr. Catherine Lok, founder and physician at RiverRock Clinic. We offer personalized, comfortable, and respectful primary care with no insurance required. Our members pay $100 per month or $1,000 per year for direct access to me—your primary care physician—via phone, email, or text. The membership includes all medical appointments, both in-person and telehealth.
I grew up understanding the healing connection between doctor and patient, as my mother, a chiropractor, introduced me to this idea in childhood. After attending A.T. Still University for osteopathic medicine and completing a grueling three years of residency in the Pine Barrens of Maine during COVID, I developed a passion for both personalized care and end-of-life care. However, I couldn’t find an established clinic that would allow me to foster that healing connection with patients, so I decided to open my own.
RiverRock Clinic allows me to practice medicine in a way that’s both conventional and personalized. The clinic represents the balance between “rock,” symbolizing the steadiness of conventional medicine grounded in science, and “river,” symbolizing the flexibility needed to navigate the twists and turns of life. Together, river and rock combine to create a holistic approach to health.
Just myself, the doctor! My patients don’t have to talk to three phone trees to get to me.
During my first year of business, the greatest lesson I learned was gaining a true sense of the natural ups and downs that come with owning a business. I gained a clearer understanding of what constitutes a “normal” high and what depth to expect during the low points. Understanding what’s normal has given me a sense of calm, and that sense of stability is truly invaluable in business.
I look forward to welcoming new patients as I continue to grow my practice and hone my craft. I am particularly interested in working with medically complex cases, including individuals managing liver cirrhosis, heart failure, headaches/migraines, amyloidosis, and those in need of Suboxone for opioid use disorder. Additionally, I am passionate about supporting the LGBTQ+ community in their healthcare needs.
When Hurricane Helene flooded my clinic with three feet of water, it was a huge setback, especially since the clinic was less than a year old. However, the support from fellow business owners, friends, and the Asheville community was incredible. People came together during the week of Christmas to help clear out moldy items, save important medical supplies, and offer their time to help me move furniture into a new space on the border of Asheville and Weaverville.
This experience made me realize just how connected the business community in Asheville is and how, even in the world we live in, we still need each other.
Shout out to the AVL Chamber for supporting the business community after the hurricane. May we all continue to heal.
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Learn more about RiverRock Clinic and Dr. Catherine Lok’s approach to personalized healthcare by visiting RiverRockClinic.com. You can also connect with the clinic on Facebook here for updates and insights into patient-centered care in Asheville.