Pharmacy Costs
I recently had a patient that needed some antibiotics after her surgery. She initially asked me to call her prescription in to Costco but Costco’s pharmacy is closed on Sunday. So I asked the patient to provide me with a 24-hour pharmacy near where she lives. Enter “Unnamed chain pharmacy”. She sent me a […]
Price of Healthcare vs Cost of Healthcare
A recent Reuters article discusses the huge disparity in prices for common surgical procedures such as hip and knee replacement. The article highlights a study by Blue Cross Blue Shield that is self-serving to say the least. It points out how doctors and insurers charge high prices for these procedures and, depending on the facility, […]
BuildMyBod Price Transparency [infographic]
BuildMyBod, your source for online price transparency in healthcare continues to grow. The infographic below highlights how a picture is worth a thousand words! Enjoy and repost as you see fit. Thanks for reading our blog and forging a path to price transparency in healthcare. Price Transparency in Healthcare Tell us your story […]
Wow…TV advertising still works!
My practice recently ran a “Medical Minute” on one of the local TV stations, KRON4, here in San Francisco. It’s an informative 60 seconds discussing our ability to perform non-surgical, permanent fat reduction with CoolSculpting in half the time of most practices and also highlighted our in-office operating room and aesthetician. At the end of […]
An Indictment of the Health Care System
Wanna read a great article that pretty much sums up the health care system and the lack of price transparency therein?! Wait no more. Eric Michael David’s editorial in the WSJ hits the nail on the head, with a little humor to boot! To highlight the complexity and insanity of our US health care […]
Online Pricing for Medical Tourism
As mentioned in Medical Tourism Magazine, “The Affordable Care Act has enabled some Americans to purchase health insurance for the first time, but providing fair-priced employee benefits remains a challenging prospect for U.S. employers,” said Jonathan Edelheit, CEO of the Medical Tourism Association®. “Even though the increased cost for insurance has been shifted on the […]
Bringing the Price of Health Care Into the Open
In her article, “How to Bring the Price of Health Care Into the Open,” Ms. Beck touches on a snowball effect that’s occurring right now in healthcare. As state legislatures, insurers and startups push initiatives to shine a light on the cost of healthcare, the movement is gaining traction. Whereas claiming that negotiated rates between […]
Why Price Transparency is More Complicated Than You Think
Why is price transparency in healthcare so difficult to achieve? If you want a car, you can check the price online or in the papers. Same thing with a house. So what’s so different about providing price transparency in healthcare? If it was easy, someone would’ve done it by now. In one sentence, it’s complicated […]
3 Reasons Price Transparency is Good for the Doctor and the Patient
What will make doctors like patients more and what will make patients like doctors more?! Full disclosure, honesty and price transparency. They all go hand in hand. And nothing is more absent from healthcare than price transparency, but that doesn’t have to be. Price transparency can, if done the right way, give both the patient […]
Price Transparency in the Emergency Room
In a recent NY Times article, the costs in the ER were discussed yet again. This is an ongoing problem that shows the most expensive care is typically in the emergency room. It’s not really a new revelation but by highlighting the actual charges patients are receiving in their bills, it’s just as alarming (Coincidentally, […]