BuildMyBod is a startup company based in San Francisco that allows doctors to provide out-of-pocket pricing information to patients online. In exchange for submitting a ‘wishlist’ that includes procedures of interest, the patient gets a detailed accounting of the cost of services and procedures they’re considering and the doctor gets that prospective patient’s contact info for follow up. With this type of online price transparency, the cosmetic surgery patient can avoid an unnecessary consultation if the procedure cost is too high.
Based on a study of one physician’s Pricing page on his website, 82% of the patients that submitted a ‘wishlist’ of procedures they were interested in, did not book a consultation because the costs of the cosmetic surgery were out of their budget. Think of how much time this saved the patient!
What if online price transparency wasnt available? If a prospective patient didn’t know cost but was interested enough to come in for a consultation, they would first take time off of work just for the appointment. Then after exposing their deepest insecurities in a gown, half-naked, and 45 minutes later, they would receive the estimate. Can you say “sticker shock?!”
By allowing 82% of patients interested in cosmetic surgery to know costs prior to the consultation, the patient and the doctor would benefit tremendously from the time saved. Productivity wouldn’t be interrupted at the patient’s workplace and the doctor could see other patients that were more familiar with the budgetary requirements of cosmetic surgery. This shouldn’t be a groundbreaking revelation. Consider the situation of buying a car or house – you would want to know the cost before going to the dealership or home showing. Why should cosmetic surgery be any different?
Help a friend avoid sticker shock. Tell them to check pricing on cosmetic surgery by clicking here if you’re lucky enough to live in San Francisco or click here if you live outside of San Francisco!
Click here for the original blog post written by Dr. Jonathan Kaplan for BuildMyBod.
