Ever wondered about the relationship between Botox and doctors? Well, today is the day when you’re wondering ends…
Every patient is aware that Botox treatments are expensive. In fact, we’d wager that this is the first consideration of most of them. But what very few realize is that doctors usually get so little profit from doing Botox. The fact of the matter is that it’s not a big ticket item in cosmetic medicine. Here’s the simple reason why: the drug, by itself, is expensive. Which means that even your trusty clinic bears the brunt of the high price of the drug.
According to this report, a vial of Botox containing 100 units carried a price tag of $525 last year, 2009. That translates to a bottom line cost of $5.25 per unit.
While prices vary per region, clinics typically charge their patients $10 per unit. That’s a little less than twice the cost of the drug itself! Let’s consider this for a moment. The $4.75 you pay on top of the cost of Botox will cover the following expenses: utilities (electricity and water), salary of all of the staff (yes, you pay not only for your Botox injector but also for everybody in the payroll), operating expenses and lease expenses (for the office and equipments), among other things. Of course all these costs are distributed among all the clients and you only shoulder a fraction of the overall expense. But, do you see how far doctors and clinics stretch the little margin they get per treatment?
Here’s an illustration so you may see the situation even better. A regular treatment of the glabellar lines for women require 20 units of Botox so, you will be paying the clinic $200 dollars for the procedure – $105 for the Botox, $95 for all of the other expenses that was already mentioned. Can you imagine what will be left as net profit? Gets you thinking, huh?
You might now be wondering why a lot of physicians are still deciding to add Botox to the services they offer. Here’s the answer to that one: Botox is a great introductory service and since it’s one of the most sought after treatments, it’s a fabulous way to obtain new clients. Making Botox patients happy can lead to a long term relationship that will (hopefully) include some of the ‘big ticket’ procedures. We know it sounds very utilitarian but this is the reality of the business side of things…
Now, let us make it clear that we aren’t divulging this info to disillusion you or to make you cynical. We just want you to see the other side of the coin. Before you think that your doctor is ripping you off with the price of his services, you should consider the things we pointed out above. Keeping these little bits of info in mind may help you understand your Botox provider and get you better treatments.
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