Medically not cleared and surgery day got canceled, am I entitled to a refund?

Question

I scheduled for BA 10/16/17 now I’m not medically cleared, but MD office charged me $500 to secure surgery day. I’m I entitled for a refund since the surgery was not canceled by me.

Michael E. Decherd, MD, FACS · Answer

I personally would not keep you money, but it depends on the protocol of the office you are dealing with.  Presumably if you are able to fix the obstacle to getting cleared, you can just reschedule for a different day.Good Luck!

William Andrade, MD · Answer

Hello, I would suggest speaking to your surgeon about their refund policy after a cancelled operation, since each clinic will have its own policy.  There is no standard policy followed by all clinics.  In my clinic if there is a documented medical reason why surgery can not be performed, a refund is issued.

Douglas L. Gervais, MD · Answer

Dear tgdbless12,  All practices have different policies regarding deposits and refunds of fees/deposits. Please review the office policy and speak with the office manager. Most practices would refund the $$ or apply to your surgery when/if you can reschedule. Good luck. Dr. Gervais.

Janet Turkle, MD · Answer

Hello,Thanks for your question. It depends on the financial policies of your plastic surgeon. Check out the documents you were given relative to refunds and the circumstances under which those are given. The best course is to reschedule for another day, assuming you can be cleared for surgery.

Mahlon Kerr, MD, FACS · Answer

Typically we would try and reschedule the surgery date after you get cleared. Sometimes this takes months but sometimes it's quick.  Depends on your medical problem. Talk with your clinic. You are likely not the first person that has had this happened to and they will have a policy. The good news is that they are practicing safe surgery and want you to be healthy before you have an operation. This is a sign of an excellent practice. We do the same. Good luck!

Richard G. Reish, MD, FACS · Answer

Hello and thank you for your question. Every surgeon has a different protocol for this.  In my practice, if a patient cannot obtain medical clearance, a full refund is returned to the patient.  I recommend discussing this with your surgeon.
Best wishes and good luck.
Richard G. Reish, M.D.
Harvard-trained plastic surgeon

Jane M. Rowley, MD · Answer

All offices have different billing procedures.  This should have been discussed with you preoperatively. Most likely you will have to pay the booking fee.  Personally, I have resisted charging booking fees and I have been in practice for 20 years.  It is unusual to cancel a patient for medical reasons, but it does happen.  Patients sometimes have personal issues, for example a death in the family.  I have always accepted this and chosen to continue to practice the "old fashion way",  and it has worked fairly well--until recently.Even in a smaller community, I have noticed an significant increase in no shows for appointments and patients trying to move surgery dates and being surprised when they can not be accommodated. It is important for the patient to realize that surgery involves a large team of people and a lot of equipment.  If your surgery is scheduled and cancelled, especially the same day, often hundreds of dollars of supplies have already been opened.   I am sorry that this is happening to you, but I think more and more surgeons will be charging booking and/or cancellation fees.  Restaurants do it for dinner, why shouldn't we?  Good luck, talk to your surgeons office, maybe a personal appeal will help. Jane.

Martin Jugenburg, MD · Answer

Thank you for your question. Every clinic has their own protocols. Please contact your clinic. Regards,

Curtis Wong, MD · Answer

refunds are dependent upon the reason.  Most surgeons refund if not the fault of the patient... and your health status is not your fault.  But if you chose to cancel, most surgeons would keep your scheduling fee.  And if it was not a scheduling fee, you should get a refund regardless of cause since no procedure was done.  Hopefully, if you're not planning on having surgery ever, that your surgeon will have a check or credit your credit card at your next visit, or sooner if appropriate.

Joseph L. Grzeskiewicz, MD, FACS · Answer

Each surgeon typically has their own financial policy which should govern, among other things in your financial relationship, the terms under which refunds are allowed and what is done in the event of cancelations.  This should be a written document that you are presented with and asked to sign before proceeding even to consultation, let alone surgery.  If you do remember signing such a document in your surgeon's office, the first place to check for an answer to your question is there.  While these things usually function as a contract that you agree to by signing, this doesn't mean that the parties can't use their discretion to change those terms on a case-by-case basis.  In the case of my own office, we have a written cancelation policy which allows for us to withhold refunds after a certain period of time before surgery, so that we can cover the up front costs to us of actually scheduling the surgery.  In many instances we wind up incurring costs ourselves by reserving operating room time, ordering equipment/supplies/implants, scheduling staff and anesthesia providers, and blocking out surgeon time, so such refund policies are not unique and not without justification.  However, having said that, we also very liberally use our discretion when enforcing our own policy, and in cases of unavoidable cancelation, such as a sudden medical problem, we will often negotiate any costs we may have incurred and work with our patients to minimize or avoid any payment if possible.  This is especially true if we see the cancelation as a "temporary" thing and we anticipate rescheduling the surgery at a later time.  The best thing for you to do is first find out whether you were provided with your surgeon's cancelation and refund policies, and if so, consult that document for the terms.  Then call your surgeon's office and see what you can work out in the event that the policy does not allow for a refund given the specific circumstances of your cancelation and timing of that.  Good luck.

Medically not cleared and surgery day got canceled, am I entitled to a refund?

Answers (16)

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