Friends, Family and Professional Courtesy in Dermatology and Medical Aesthetic Practices
Aug 30, 2024
A friend asks your front desk to apply “the usual discount.” A relative expects injectable product at cost. A physician from another practice schedules a treatment and assumes there will be no charge.
When these requests are handled individually, staff are left guessing and the physician owner ends up approving every exception.
No practice is required to provide discounted or complimentary services to friends, family members or other professionals. If you choose to offer a courtesy, put the terms in writing before the next request is made.
Decide Who Qualifies
Separate personal courtesy, professional courtesy and staff treatment benefits. They do not need to receive the same pricing.
Your policy should identify:
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Which family members and friends qualify
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Which physicians or clinicians qualify
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Whether the courtesy extends to their family members
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Which services and products are included
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Whether the courtesy is a discount or a complimentary service
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How frequently it may be used
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Who can approve it
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Where the arrangement is documented
Professional courtesy should never be tied to referrals.
Account for the Actual Cost
Medical aesthetic services do not all have the same cost structure. A complimentary consultation has a different financial impact than an injectable treatment, device procedure or treatment series.
Pricing should account for more than the cost of the product. Provider time, staff time, supplies, room use, payment processing and follow up are also part of the expense.
Providing injectable treatment “at cost” may cover the vial while overlooking everything required to deliver the treatment safely.
The policy should also state whether courtesy pricing can be combined with packages, memberships, promotions or rewards.
Give Staff a Clear Process
Staff should not have to interpret personal relationships or negotiate pricing.
They need to know who approves a courtesy, where it is recorded, which adjustment to use and who handles requests outside the policy.
A simple response may be:
“Our practice has a written courtesy policy. I can confirm whether it applies before we schedule your service.”
This allows the pricing conversation to happen before the appointment instead of at checkout.
Once the courtesy has been approved and documented, staff should be able to apply it without returning to the physician owner before every visit.
Use the Same Practice Process
Friends, family members and other professionals should complete the same registration, consent, photography, documentation and payment requirements as every other patient.
Treatment recommendations, follow up and management of concerns should also remain consistent.
Keep Courtesy Pricing Separate From Insured Services
A written policy should state that courtesy pricing applies only to eligible self pay cosmetic services.
It should not be used to routinely waive copayments, deductibles or other required patient responsibility for services billed to insurance.
Have your legal or compliance advisor review the policy before it is implemented. Staff should receive an approved process rather than being expected to interpret billing or legal requirements.
Review the Financial Impact
Courtesy services and discounts should be visible in the practice’s reporting.
Review the number of discounted or complimentary visits, the total value provided and how often exceptions are being made.
A fully complimentary service still has a cost. Recording it allows the physician owner to decide whether the amount remains appropriate.
Make Courtesy a Deliberate Decision
A written policy allows you to decide where generosity belongs without forcing staff to improvise or allowing personal and professional expectations to quietly change the practice’s pricing.
Ready to Strengthen Your Practice?
If informal discounts, professional courtesies and special requests are making your pricing difficult to manage, it is time to establish a policy your staff can follow.
Connie Kurczewski is the founder of Elevated Practice Consulting and Strategic Advisor to Dermatologists and Aesthetic Physicians. She advises physician owners on staffing, leadership, operations, marketing, sales and patient experience.
