With money tight, more people forgo elective surgery - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

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By December, there were fewer facelifts and breasr reductions on the booksat , said Dr. Jamesw Chappell. Patients spent their disposable dollars buying holidayg presents for their kids ratherr than oncosmetic procedures. This year, business is down 15 percent, largelhy due to a drop in cosmetic procedures. The surgeon also performes reconstructive surgery. Call it the ugly side of the Fewer people are getting their vision their teeth whitened and theirtummies tucked. Physiciand in Greater Baltimore blame the economg for curtailingelective procedures. The numbers back up theirr claim.
Of course, massive layoffz or widespread bankruptcies that have hit othe r industries are not affectingthese practices. But health long thought by many to bea recession-prooff industry, also finds itself beinyg dragged down by the global financial Surveys show that doctorws are seeing fewer patients overall due to the But elective procedures took the biggest nosedivwe because patients pay thousands of dollars up fronyt entirely out of their own pockets. Eye doctors, dentists and plasticd surgeons say parts of their practices that rely on insurancee are either not suffering or suffering less than theircosmetix business. Elective business is the cash cow.
For reconstructive plasti surgery — say following a car accident cataract surgery andother non-elective procedures, doctors will get a fraction of their bill covered by insurance companies. Since Marylandc has one of the lowestf medical reimbursement rates inthe nation, many doctorsd practicing in the state depend on the cosmetif procedures to sustain their To make up for the dip in doctors are cutting costs, diversifying their business and offering discounts to get more patients in the Will things turn around? Ophthalmologist Dr. Jay C. Grochmak sees no end in sight tothe “I’m not hopeful,” he said.
The housing and auto industries arestill weak, said Grochmal, who practices in Catonsvillew and Ellicott City. And if people are not confident abou tthe economy, they are less likelyt to get Lasik and other electives surgery, he said. “I don’t see an end to it anytim e soon.” But others, like Dr. are more optimistic. Two teachers came in last month wanting breast implants in time forthe summer. Here’ a look at the professionals feeling the bruntr of the electivesurgery drought. In 24 Dr.
Roger Levin has never seen anything likethis “I’ve never seen dentistry affected by the said Levin, owner of Owings Millws dental consultancy, the Revenue at dental practicesa across the country is down 12 percent in the last 12 according to data compiled by the Levin Group and trade magazinew Dental Economics. In many the biggest revenue drop is in cosmetic Revenue fromporcelain veneers, braces and tooth whitening dropperd 23 percent this year at , Practice Administratord Janet Hewitt Cully said. which costs $3,000 to $5,000, has seen the biggesr drop, she said. Some patientx are getting fewerporcelain veneers, said Dr.
Denise Markofvf of Federal Hill “Instead of getting a majofr Hollywood smile they might do fourfronf teeth,” she said. That would mean plunkingh down $4,000 instead of $10,000. “It’s not that they don’g have the money but they’re questioning whether it is the right time tospends it,” Dr. Myron Kellner said. Kellner runs the , a four-persob dental practice in Lutherville. Businese is down 10 percent this year. And cosmetic dentistry, which once comprisesd 70 percent ofhis business, now makexs up 40 percent.
Kellne has been offering a $199 deal on toothy whitening — that normally costs $400 — for the last two month s to bring people to the He isnot alone. One quartert of the 3,300 dentists surveyed by Clinical Research Associates in Utah said they are offering discounts or promotions to keepclientz coming. This includes everythingf from free exams to creditws for referringa patient. Smile Design Center is also boostingcustomere service. One of Kellner’s staff members carries a cell phone after houre so a patient does not get a One patient who called on a recenf Saturday got an appointment right Who knows, otherwise he may have gone to another dentist, Kellne r said.