Reposted below in it’s entirety is an article by Lisette Hilton, published by the Cosmetic Surgery Times on October 11, 2016.
BuildMyBod, an online marketplace connecting doctors and patients, where consumers can check pricing, get quotes and make online purchases of cosmetic and other non-surgical services, has a new service that plastic and cosmetic surgeons might find useful: the BuildMyBod Health Pricing Assistant.
Because the platform has so many doctors who have uploaded their pricing to the BuildMyBod database, plastic surgeons, cosmetic surgeons, dermatologists and others can now get real-time U.S., regional, state and local (by zip code) cost averages for comparable procedures, according to BuildMyBod CEO and founder, plastic surgeon Jonathan Kaplan, MD.
“We have over 250 doctors and facilities using BuildMyBod. That includes plastic surgeons, dermatologists, dentists, surgery centers and radiology facilities,” Dr. Kaplan tells Cosmetic Surgery Times.
He says BuildMyBod comes up with average pricing for specific procedures using a proprietary method to ensure inclusivity and accuracy.
“Each doctor logs into our provider portal and uploads their procedures and associated pricing. The averages are based on those doctor-provided prices for the U.S., region, state and ZIP code,” Dr. Kaplan says.
The knowledge about comparative pricing helps surgeons better understand their markets, which is important for any successful business, the plastic surgeon says.
“By understanding how your prices compare to your competition, you can ensure you’re charging an amount that’s commensurate with your expertise,” he says.
BuildMyBod isn’t the only platform that offers pricing information that surgeons can see. Anyone who puts in a procedure and a zip code can get high-end and low-end pricing on the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery’s website. And RealSelf.com offers average procedure costs in local areas provided by patients.
Dr. Kaplan says BuildMyBod’s prices are the most accurate, however, because they’re provided by physicians and are the prices that consumers can see when they submit a wish list through the BuildMyBod.com website or the BuildMyBod widget embedded into a doctor’s website.
“The fact that consumers can see pricing on specific procedures means the doctor wants to ensure the prices are accurate estimates rather than ranges or approximations that are way off of what the patient might see when they arrive for their consultation,” he says.
“Just to be clear, only the doctor can use the Pricing Assistant to compare their procedure prices to their colleagues’ in the Provider Portal. Patients can submit wish lists and receive instant, automated quotes on specific procedures from specific doctors, but not see the averages of all providers in the area.” [BuildMyBod note: While BuildMyBod wants to provide pricing information to the consumer, comparing all prices within an area suggests commoditization of services which BuildMyBod is not attempting to do.]
Dr. Kaplan adds BuildMyBod is the most complete pricing available because it includes the surgeon’s fee, operating room and anesthesia fees, implant fees, etc. Other such databases might include only the surgeon’s fee, he says.
Click here for the original post written by Lisette Hilton for Cosmetic Surgery Times.
