I agree with BeHappy on the discounts. However, there is a point that shouldn't be crossed imo.

Asking for such discounts as paying in cash, standby, etc. is great and should be done all the time. However, it's the kind of bartering similar to what you'd do in China Town when trying to buy a cheap watch that I think has no place in this type service.

Same in my business. When I get negotiated down, sometimes threatened with future business, etc., my relationship with that client is all but over. For example, I've got this client who said "I'll take my business somewhere else..." when trying to get $50 off on a stock trade I hade recommended to him. I gave it to him, but I don't call him about much since then. Why should I spend my time when he's reduced the pay for my service down to almost nothing? I'll do for him what's ethically right, but he's no longer one of my top priorities.

So, did he really save $50? Nope.

Probably same with a doctor. You start offending one of these guys and do you think he'll go the extra mile? I don't know. I try to be respectful in the whole thing.

Dewayne, there is a right way to negotiate and a wrong way. You never want to be rude when you negotiate. I've negotiated ht prices with two top surgeons. Allot of time the doc has a set price on what he wants to make on the surgery. It’s the ht consultant who makes his commission of the patients and I'm sure commission varies depending on how much the consultant wants to make or how desperate the client is.

I think its ok to ask the doctor their flexibility when it comes to prices and all. When I went in for a consultation with my dr, i asked about her fees, how she charges, and im doing so she said she offers a $500 travel voucher for out of state travelers, as well as cheaper pricing for the more grafts you get. All in all, 2100+ grafts cost me about 3.50 a graft plus a $500 off voucher.

Definately doesn't hurt to ask, but then again, I was not pushy in any way because such a practice merits hard work and skill and trying to weasel greater discounts imo can be quite insulting

Hi guys

This has been a hot topic in australia too. I've worked with various H.T doctors over the last 8 years and the normal practise was to quote per graft, however recently I've partnered with a surgeon and we decided that we would quote in sessions rather than grafts.

I was finding prospective patients were coming to see me and either confused because one surgeon quoted hairs and the other quoted grafts.

Just last week I had a 31y.old male patient who was quoted 500 grafts because that was all he could afford, when i viewed is hair loss 500 would not given him the result he deserved, in fact thru my calculations he was going to need at least 800 -1200 grafts to the crown area.

Nothing infuriates me more, than doctors that take on a patient and only give the patient the number of grafts they can afford, even if it is not going to provide the coverage they need.

With the patient mentioned above, I quoted a session and I have signed on to provide him with the graft numbers he needs which is 800+ for his budget which is in-fact slicing off close to $3k for the operation.

I'd rather build a reputation on good work, and be involved in the industry fo a long time, than cut corners and be out in 5

*I am Practice Manager & Patient Advisor for Dr Andrew Kim, Sydney Institute of Hair Restoration*

There are lots of ways to charge patients fairly, and lots of ways to fleece sheep. Establish a rapport with your doctor, look at some of his/her results and make sure the doctor and you are on the same page about BOTH your expectations and your finances.

We price cases in terms of graft ranges as is posted on our website with the price for all to see. Our general philosophy is to recommend a treatment plan, then discuss what the options are. Sometimes a patient may need 3000 grafts but only have hair for 1500 due to donor region issues/previous plug harvests etc. It would be foolish for us to offer 3k then. A great example is a fellow we did mid April, who had lots of donor hair, but multiple scars and quite frankly we were concerned that we couldn't get more than 15-1800 grafts without undo tension on the wound and an increased risk of scar problems. I think he may have paid for 1500, but we got 100 or so more grafts and put them in free, and I would expect that in a year or more, that if his scalp laxity is acceptible that we will do another smaller case.

Conversely, I have seen folks who could only afford a smaller case and the patient and I discuss where they want to spend their finite resource(their donor hair-not their money--they will make more money at some point and if we treat them fairly, the we may have the opportunity to work with them in the future). So we focus on the hairline or crown or what makes sense to the patient in planning for their hair-future.

I think to simply say that we can cover a particular area of the scalp for x dollars would not work in our practice. One person's idea of coverage may not be another's same thought.

Lastly, we do occasionally offer "as much as possible cases" where we harvest the maximal strip that we can safely harvest with good closure; and we start where the patient was most concerned with placement and go until we run out of grafts. An example recently was profession nearby who I expected to get 2500 grafts based in his scalp properties, but when taking the strip I could see that he was favorable for a larger harvest. We had an established relationship and he wanted us to proceed with a larger case. We ended up at 3200 grafts and charged him for 3000. He got a great result, was glad to have the extra grafts and felt fairly treated.

So in conclusion, rather than how a doctor prices his surgeries; a better solution is to make sure you the patient, and the doctor, are on the same page with the plan, execution, and payment BEFORE the procedure.

Dr. Lindsey RESTON VA

Very well Put Dr. Lindsey. I couldn't agree more.

Most of the italian patients that I have assisted have had surgery where they are charged a flat rate. The price is usually 5000euros and the bad scar is free . Most of them do not have clue how many grafts they have recieved but they appear easy to count since you can see them from a great distance. My guess is it average out to about 400-500. I don't have to tell you these are the people that come to be repaired.
In my opinion the flat rate would benifit the doctor.