If this is NOT your first time visiting this blog, then you know that I sound like a broken record when it comes to the importance of price transparency in healthcare. And if this is your first time visiting the BuildMyBod blog, then welcome to the world of promoting price transparency in healthcare!
There is no other business where you receive a service without knowing the cost first. You don’t go look at a house without knowing the listing and you wouldn’t go to a car dealership to test drive a Ferrari because, like most of us, we can’t afford it. So why are we expected to go to a consultation without knowing how much something costs.
Apparently I’m not alone when it comes to recognizing the importance of price transparency in healthcare. As mentioned in the New York Times on November 3rd, an article in the New England Journal of Medicine discusses why it’s good medicine for doctors and patients to talk about costs before ordering and recommending certain tests. The article did not suggest withholding life-saving treatment due to cost. It only recommended that making the patient aware of the costs associated with particular treatments is important before they get the bill. And any doctor will tell you that there is more than one option for most treatments and many of those options may be less expensive.
As I point out within the world of cosmetic surgery, it’s silly to have a patient come in for a cosmetic consultation, for procedures that will ultimately be out-of-pocket, without knowing cost first. Why should someone come in for a consultation and discuss their deepest insecurities about their body (small breasts, big nose, fat thighs) only to get to the end of the consultation and realize it’s out of their budget. That’s why checking price on cosmetic surgery is a must before going in to see your board certified plastic surgeon. And that’s why clicking here and checking pricing is so important. Come out of the dark and into the light and find out how much your cosmetic surgery will cost before your consultation!
Click here for the original blog post written by Dr. Jonathan Kaplan for BuildMyBod.?
