Why Charge for Consultation
Why does Dr.Makhlouf charge for the consultation?
I would like to address a question that is frequently asked to my staff:
“Why does Dr. Makhlouf charge for the consultation when some other plastic surgeons do not?”
Well, there are multiple reasons why we charge for the initial consultation. It takes time and money to run an office and if the office is not producing income to pay for those costs then those expenses go to waste. When expenses go to waste, the resulting outcome is that the next patient will be paying for those expenses incurred by the previous patient who took time and effort from the office but never payed for it. This is a form of cost shifting.
Another approach to answer this question, is to ask “Why is it that other offices do not charge for the consultation even though they incur significant expenses?”
It is because they intend to pressure a potential patient to have the surgery.
Another important reason for the consultation fee, is the fact that when a patient makes an appointment with my office and blocks his time to come in and pays for the consultation, I am going to put in the utmost effort to give them the best consultation possible. Whether the patient is going to schedule surgery or not is irrelevant at that point. My priority is to give them my opinion as to what is best for them in terms of what they desire. I will illustrate the potential outcome, I will explain the surgery in detail including how it is performed and what the possible complications are. Therefore, by the end of the consultation, the patient has received a significant value for the fee they have paid.
I highly recommend you visit the section entitled “you first consultation” to appreciate what should go on in a proper consultation.
Early on, as I was beginning my practice I did not charge for the initial visit. This expectedly had the result of many uncommitted patients scheduling appointments and not showing up and not having the courtesy of a call cancelling the consultation. The staff found that managing the schedule for clinic time was nearly impossible. So now it also serves as a worthy schedule management tool.
That being said, we also need to realize that the consultation fee that we charge does not completely cover its equivalent expense in overhead. In today’s medical practice environment it costs approximately $250 an hour to run an office, included are rent, staff, insurance and regular office equipment, this approximated cost does not account for the physician’s salary.
Thus, even by paying $100 the patient is still receiving an excellent value for their money Moreover if the patient schedules surgery, the consultation fee they have paid will be deducted from the cost of that procedure.
Essentially from the standpoint of my practice prepayment of the consultation fee only ensures that the patient will come to the appointment, that we are spending time with patients who are serious about their procedure and that we are not simply cost shifting on to patients who are actually having the procedure..
We have worked very hard and we constantly improve our website in order to give as much information as possible allowing potential patients to decide from the comfort and privacy of their own computer whether they need a face to face consultation.
Visit our office in Chicago or Des Plaines for consultation with Dr. Makhlouf
