Told on phone to beware of free consults. I was told on the phone by an office to beware of free consultations. Is this true? I saw a doctor I was impressed by but it was a free consultation while another was $50 and then another $125. I know it can be applied to surgery. Just wondering why some are free and some cost, does it really mean anything? I am looking for an Elite Dr. in Dallas/East TX as I have a very severe abdominal separation as well as a previous hernia surgery (cut stalk) making it high risk to keep my belly button.
November 7, 2013
Answer: Don't understand the Consultation Fee. What does it mean if one is Free, $50, or $125? (photo) Basically NO, I was trained to not charge for the initial consultation back in 1980. It was to give the patient the opportunity to meet you and you to examine and discuss options. Some other PSs feel their time is reimbursable or fee generated. Whether $25 to $200 can be charged and applied to the surgery fees. Depending on the PS, the community, the practice ideals each PS choses to charge or not charge this initial fee. Yes I understand that it is my time but I believe WE (PSs) need to be available to examine, inform, understand each patients issues. It is not the $s but the opportunity to be not only a doctor but a PS. I enjoy examining and educating prospective patients. Others might feel their are wasting time but to each their own.. Therefore a no charge initial consult is NOT a BAD thing....
Helpful 1 person found this helpful
November 7, 2013
Answer: Don't understand the Consultation Fee. What does it mean if one is Free, $50, or $125? (photo) Basically NO, I was trained to not charge for the initial consultation back in 1980. It was to give the patient the opportunity to meet you and you to examine and discuss options. Some other PSs feel their time is reimbursable or fee generated. Whether $25 to $200 can be charged and applied to the surgery fees. Depending on the PS, the community, the practice ideals each PS choses to charge or not charge this initial fee. Yes I understand that it is my time but I believe WE (PSs) need to be available to examine, inform, understand each patients issues. It is not the $s but the opportunity to be not only a doctor but a PS. I enjoy examining and educating prospective patients. Others might feel their are wasting time but to each their own.. Therefore a no charge initial consult is NOT a BAD thing....
Helpful 1 person found this helpful
November 6, 2013
Answer: Free or paid consultations Every plastic surgeon has a different philosophy about whether to charge for cosmetic consultations. I do not. I agree that the marketing consultants have hyped the notion that we should charge for consults. Frankly, I make my money in the OR. I also feel that, since I turn away patients who do not fulfill the criteria for surgery, it is extremely difficult to take people's money only to explain why they should not have surgery. I believe that the consult fee can be off-putting. Yesterday, I saw a patient who had come to me in consultation almost two years ago and is finally ready to schedule an operation. I would prefer not to charge but to provide meaningful information rather than allowing patients to base their impressions solely on information discovered independently. In Manhattan, it is very chic to charge for consults and I am told that other doctors who offer free consults spend 5 minutes or less with the patients and let the "coordinators" do the heavy lifting. This is not my philosophy.
Helpful 1 person found this helpful
November 6, 2013
Answer: Free or paid consultations Every plastic surgeon has a different philosophy about whether to charge for cosmetic consultations. I do not. I agree that the marketing consultants have hyped the notion that we should charge for consults. Frankly, I make my money in the OR. I also feel that, since I turn away patients who do not fulfill the criteria for surgery, it is extremely difficult to take people's money only to explain why they should not have surgery. I believe that the consult fee can be off-putting. Yesterday, I saw a patient who had come to me in consultation almost two years ago and is finally ready to schedule an operation. I would prefer not to charge but to provide meaningful information rather than allowing patients to base their impressions solely on information discovered independently. In Manhattan, it is very chic to charge for consults and I am told that other doctors who offer free consults spend 5 minutes or less with the patients and let the "coordinators" do the heavy lifting. This is not my philosophy.
Helpful 1 person found this helpful
