Should your doctor charge you if you are too sick for surgery and must reschedule?

Question

I just sheduled a 3 hour liposuction and noticed in the fine print the cancellation policy.If i become ill, and the surgery has to be rescheduled, i will be charged$ 1500.00, if it occurs 2 weeks prior to surgery.If I become ill 72 hours before the surgery, i must pay her, the surgery center, and the anesthesiologist center the entire amount,Is this common?

Afshin Farzadmehr, MD · Answer

There is absolutely no fees for rescheduling in our office.  Normally there is $200 deposit and that is it.

Jason Emer, MD · Answer

Fees are common for cancelling even if there is a circumstance.  I suggest you decide if this policy is acceptable to you or not.  Best, Dr. Emer.

Steven Teitelbaum, MD · Answer

This contract says they'd charge you to reschedule because you got sick?  That's either an oversight or the doctor is nuts.  Ask the office about it and the extent to which they enforce it.It often isn't safe to operate on someone who is ill, so i don't want patients to feel pressured to hold back from telling us the truth about whether they have a cough, etc.I don't remember the exact wording of my paperwork, but I do not charge sick people a rescheduling fee.Realize that there are a few people who might wake up the morning of surgery and decide they don't want to go ahead.  By that time the surgeon has set aside his or her day, has paid a fee to the operating room, to nurses, and to an anesthesiologist.  So it is reasonable to charge a fee to recoup those costs.People can always lie and say that they are sick when they are not, but that does not seem to happen very often.  Once people see the cancellation fee in the contract, they tend to only schedule after they are certain they want to go ahead.  I think that clause is in there less to ever be enforced than it is there to be sure that the patient is serious about having the surgery.And once in a while a patient has a sick child or a sick parent.  In those cases we do not charge a rescheduling fee.  There are a lot of nuances to these situations and we are always sympathetic - though we also expect patients to respect the cost of time being set aside for them.

Gerald Minniti, MD, FACS · Answer

Hello,Yes, this is common. how much you have to pay varies, but it is intended to prevent unnecessary cancellations, leaving open slots for both the surgeon and the surgery center where they could have booked another case. If you are sick, they will evaluate you and they will cancel you if necessary.  That is a situation where you are not going to have to pay. Best of luck!

Stuart A. Linder, MD, FACS · Answer

Each surgeon will have their own policies. Rescheduling because of illness in our practice does not require any additional fees. Best of luck

Should your doctor charge you if you are too sick for surgery and must reschedule?

Answers (10)

Answer: Cancellation Fees Are Justified

Answer: Cancellation Fees Are Justified

Answer: Policies

Answer: Policies

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Everything you need to know about Liposuction

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Should your doctor charge you if you are too sick for surgery and must reschedule?

Answers (10)

Answer: Cancellation Fees Are Justified

Answer: Cancellation Fees Are Justified

Answer: Policies

Answer: Policies

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Recommended reading

Everything you need to know about Liposuction

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.