Charli Smithson
Photo credit: Sam Patel
The rising costs of healthcare in America is not a new issue. But what most patients don’t realize is that for many medical offices, insurance-based care is hardly lucrative — between relying on insurance-determined reimbursements and waiting for those reimbursements to get paid, doctors don’t generally benefit.
Now, through consulting company Astra Culture, medical consultant and entrepreneur Dr. Sam R. Patel aims to have doctors of all specialties supplement their revenue by offering cash-based, elective treatments and procedures.
“I convert all of them to cash-based models,” says Patel. “That’s our niche. We are here to help practices make a lot more money in an easier way.” He notes that this doesn’t mean the offices he helps stop taking insurance entirely. They continue accepting insurance for medically necessary care — the expanded offering of cash-based elective procedures is a way to increase monthly income.
“A client might own their own practice, but then they’ll build a med spa or wellness center as a side hustle,” Sam explains. “Our specialty is wellness services. So that’s hormone replacement therapy and medical weight loss, which are the biggest topics right now. And then regenerative medicine, Botox fillers, all of that stuff. That’s what we do.”
Thus far, Astra Culture clients have seen that offering even a handful of elective procedures can translate to a major spike in revenue. “There’s a family medicine practice I’m working with,” says Sam. “They see sick people. They help with refills, all of those services. But they get $20, $30, $40 for insurance reimbursements.
Now, they’re going to be helping people with treating their hormones. Now they’re helping them with decreasing fat using new technology. So now they’re getting $500 to $1,000 for each of these treatments, and that’s as straight cash. The practice has a whole new revenue source, and they don’t have to refer those people out.”
Patel’s clients span many medical specialties, but he says that the elective procedures Astra Culture helps practices implement are especially appealing to OBGYNs.
“They see a lot of post-pregnancy changes,” he says. “They’ll see hormone changes. They’ll see stretch marks. They’ll see sagging skin. They’ll see urinary incontinence. All of these things, but they don’t treat it. If they bring in devices and bring in technology, and then we help them establish it, they can.”
That means improved revenue for physicians and better outcomes for patients. “Now the OBGYN doesn’t have to refer it out,” Patel continues. ”They can say, ‘Listen, I know you had these pregnancies. I know you had some changes to your body. I can help you with that.’ The OBGYN gets to keep the client and retain them for further cash-based services.”
Patel’s clients are seeing a return on investment that goes beyond the cost of services. Every physician knows that each opportunity to treat a patient is an opportunity to build trust. Implementing new elective procedures might be bringing in new revenue, but it’s also strengthening old relationships — and that’s always a good thing.