Fee schedules are a laundry list of medical or dental procedures with their respective costs. Most of the time, fee schedules are hidden from immediate view of patients for various reasons.
The video below represents a very interesting – and apparently successful – approach that a group of physicians took to improving access to care while keeping costs reasonable.
Simply put, it’s a fee-for-service model, which I strongly believe in. The patient pays a fee (determined prior to starting treatment), and the doctor or dentist successfully delivers the care indicated. No insurance middlemen to muddy the waters, waste precious time, and drive up costs.
The twist? All procedure fees are posted publicly online.
Will we see this soon in dental offices too? Perhaps.
In the meantime, all patients should (of course!) be entitled to know exactly what the cost of treatment will be prior to treatment.