Here are five takeaways:
1. Dr. Kaplan runs the solo Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery practice in San Francisco and has developed a price transparency mobile app for Apple iOS called BuildMyBod, which allows patients to check prices and pay online for nonsurgical services.
2. Physicians generally cite three concerns for not disclosing prices:
- Worry over patients’ price-shopping and not caring about building a relationship with a physician
- Patients who misunderstand prices
- Fear it could be competitors calling to check prices
3. Through the BuildMyBod app, prospective patients can build wish-lists, which get emailed to the participating practice, along with basic demographic and contact information the practice would not get in a quick phone call.
4. Dr. Kaplan reported in his first year in San Francisco, web and app visitors made 292 online purchases, worth $70,487 to the practice.
5. Dr. Kaplan noted this approach toward price transparency doesn’t work for all specialties, such as high-cost procedures covered by insurance (heart bypasses or joint replacements, for example), which will put patients over their deductibles if they haven’t hit it already.
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