People looking for more transparency in their search for medical care have a new resource in a Web site designed to link healthcare providers and patients willing to pay cash.
“You can’t find a provider that doesn’t want more patients paying in cash,” said Pat Bradley, president of PriceDoc, whose site offers comparative pricing information for various medical, dental, vision, chiropractic, cosmetic, spa-based and other “low risk and non diagnostic” elective procedures.
The site also gives patients information about providers’ education, training, credentials, services and amenities, as well as photos and videos of procedures, he said.
Bradley compared PriceDoc to a dating site or other Web site where consumers pay a monthly fee to have their profile displayed. In some cases, he said, providers post their procedure prices – but also allow patients to make an offer.
“Through PriceDoc, we offer a discount of 20 (percent) to 30 percent off our usual fees,” said Robert M. Stark, MD, medical director of the cardiovascular prevention program at Connecticut’s Greenwich Hospital/Yale-New Haven Health, who signed up to use the service seven months ago.
“Pricing transparency is most important for patients who are self-pay or who want to have some control over their healthcare expenditure,” said Stark.
As for future developments for the site, “we are leaning towards a full loop, where you could book your appointments though our site,” Bradley said. He is also thinking of offering providers a pay-per-lead model, where they would only be required to make a payment if a patient was delivered through their service.
“The main benefit for providers is increased exposure and the opportunity to attract new cash-paying patients,” said Bradley.
Attracting cash-paying patients is something that concierge practices know little about. Although they may differ by name (often referred to as direct healthcare or retainer-based medicine, among others) or pricing structure, the aim is the same: providing a higher quality of care.
PriceDoc.com currently provides listings for six concierge practices: Care Practice in San Francisco; Essential Medical Care in College Park, Ga.; Anchor Medical Clinic in Mukilteo, Wash.; Qliance Primary Care Specialists in Seattle; Dr. Mac in San Antonio; and Guardian Family Care in Mill Creek, Wash.
“Operating a direct healthcare practice allows my office to offer primary care at an affordable price,” said Heidi S. Rendall, MD, of Anchor Medical Clinic, who signed up to be listed on PriceDoc last year. “But it also gives me and my staff the time and flexibility to provide the patient-focused healthcare that today’s healthcare delivery system has derailed.”
“I can absolutely say this is a better model of medicine,” said Ami Laws, MD, a Palo Alto primary care physician who has approximately 200 patients. She said her patients receive a better level of care and comfort than they would receive at a regular practice.
On a typical day Laws said she sees three to six patients in her office, or in some cases through home visits, but can interact with another 10 to 20 through secure e-mail and phone calls.
Although Laws’ fee-for-service is higher than that of a typical clinic, she said, “My patients almost never have to go into an emergency room,” which saves on overall healthcare dollars.