Maybe you’ve seen the ads: “CHEAP VISION CORRECTION” … “$250 LASIK!!!”
Sounds like a great deal at first blush, right? Well, trust us when we tell you that eye surgery is not one of those services that should bring out the bargain shopper in you. In order to stay profitable with deeply discounted services, clinics offering cheap LASIK must cut corners and make sacrifices.
What are you sacrificing when you leap at a cheap LASIK surgery deal to save money? Here are some of the ways a cheap LASIK surgery center may trim expenses—possibly at your expense—to keep operating in the black. Can you live with the trade-offs?
Fewer treatment options. Fewer surgical solutions means fewer expensive machines to buy. Cheap LASIK surgery centers usually offer just LASIK. That means they don’t make room in the budget for PRK, lens-based treatments or any other alternative that may better suit your needs.
Simple diagnosis. All a cheap LASIK center needs to know is if you are a candidate for the procedure they perform or not. They may offer just LASIK—none of the other LASIK alternatives available today. So, they trim costs here by not purchasing more equipment than necessary to get their yes or no answer. The downside for you of their low cost is that the procedure they offer may not be the best or right one for you.
Shorter hours. In many businesses, manpower can represent as much as 80 percent of a surgery center’s operational costs. So, it makes sense to trim here if cost-cutting is the goal. That means the less time they spend examining you, addressing your concerns and answering follow-up questions, the less your bargain surgery will cost them.
Staff salaries. Experience doesn’t come cheap. If you’re lucky enough to find a cheap LASIK place with a laser vision correction surgeon who has an impressive pedigree, you have to wonder what care cuts are being made to keep him or her on the payroll!
Training and education. If your cheap LASIK center uses contractors—freelance surgeons who have to pay for their own continuing education—they’re at the mercy of an individual who may or may not have budgeted for expensive ongoing professional development. If the surgeon is on staff, advanced training may not be high on the priority list when budget is a concern. It is, after all, an added expense, and time away from profitable surgery isn’t great for the bottom line.
Before and after care. A freelance surgeon may not be in the same city, much less the same office, after your surgery to address after-care concerns for you. If you have no complications, it may be inconsequential. If you do, you’ll wish there was someone in your time zone to help!
Cheaper/older technology and supplies. With bargain-basement pricing as the selling point, a cheap LASIK center has no choice but to book as many patients as possible to cut costs as deeply as feasible in order to stay profitable. This is a powerful incentive to get as many years out of expensive equipment as they can—even when better, more advanced technology is available. That means you may not get the best potential outcome for that price.
As you research your LASIK surgeon, be sure to keep these things in mind. At Missouri Eye Institute, you will find advanced, proven procedures performed by highly experienced surgeons at a value that far exceeds the price. Don’t take our word for it, read reviews from real patients.
And when you’re ready to take the next step, contact us for your complimentary consultation.
Missouri Eye Institute has helped thousands of patients attain freedom from glasses and contact lenses. Call us at (800) 383-3831 to schedule a LASIK consultation or visit MissouriEye.com to learn more about our services.
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