Dr. Jonathan Kaplan, Founder/CEO of BuildMyBod Health is presenting at the Sientra Practice Management Workshop tomorrow in Dallas.
BuildMyBod Health: A primer
BuildMyBod Health allows consumers to check pricing on healthcare services that are typically paid out of pocket. They are paid out of pocket because 1) you haven’t met your deductible for a medically necessary service (think colonoscopy, lab test or X-ray) or 2) because the procedure is considered cosmetic and insurance doesn’t cover it anyway. Consumers interested in pricing can visit BuildMyBod.com or download the BuildMyBod iPhone app. Even more user friendly, consumers can utilize the BuildMyBod Price Estimator on a doctor’s website.
Regardless of how you find the doctor, you add procedures or services of interest to your “wishlist.” Then submit your wishlist along with your contact info. After that, you’ll instantly get an email with a breakdown of the costs and the doctor’s contact info. The doctor’s office will also receive your contact info for follow up. From there, they can help you navigate through the healthcare process.
What’s he talking about?!
Dr. Kaplan will speak on filling your sales funnel with leads that become patients. While not every lead will become a patient, you have to start somewhere. And the best way to generate a lead is to offer pricing information in exchange for contact info. This increases the likelihood that every visitor to your site becomes a potential lead. Otherwise you just have visitors clicking on your website and you can’t follow a click!
While price can be irrelevant in a world of perfect customer service, that assumes the customer has a basis for comparison. For example, you might be willing to go to an amazing coffee shop for an amazing cup of coffee even if you have to pay more. And even though you may not know the cost of a great cup of coffee, you have a general idea of how much coffee costs.
Not so in healthcare. There’s no basis for comparison. Prices vary from doctor to doctor and the difference can be thousands of dollars. So price isn’t irrelevant in this circumstance. That’s why providing pricing not only reduces the risk of sticker shock, it also serves as education. And if education and avoiding sticker shock isn’t considered good customer service, I don’t know what is! Therefore, pricing should be part of the customer service experience in your office.
To check pricing on healthcare services through the BuildMyBod Health platform click here. Or to sign up as a provider and offer pricing information to consumers in an automated way and generate leads, click here.
