The Associated Press reported this past week on the rise in patient use of daily deal sites like Groupon to pick up the slack where their insurance failed to come through for them.  Most recently there has been an increase in opportunities to receive discounts on things like dentist appointments, eye exams, chiropractor visits and LASIK procedures.  These services are out of the normal range of what Groupon usually has to offer, however this means good things for people like the patient in the article who canceled his family’s dental insurance when his premium got too high, however what about the patients who need care immediately, and don’t have time to wait for good deals?

Groupon, LivingSocial and other daily deal sites are great for luxury services, but as a patient, easy and quick access to health care resources is of paramount importance, so as these instances have shown, the need for an affordable, online shopping-style option for health care services is in demand. If you are having a medical problem, you do not want to sit around until a deal for care comes up on Groupon, wouldn’t you rather just have an outlet where you could go, see the options for doctor’s offices in your area with pricing gauges, then book it online all in one process? That is the mission behind Save On Medical.

This patient-controlled payment process, known as the self pay or cash pay trend has become increasingly popular over the past year, in all aspects of health care.  The prices of medical services, immediately necessary or trivial, are the highest they have ever been, leading even those who are insured to end up spending on average $3,000 to $4,000 each year out of pocket.  Pricing transparency in the health care system has led informed patients to make wiser decisions when it comes to their health care, because they have been able to determine what they are truly paying for.

In a sense, physicians listed on Save On Medical benefit in the same ways that merchants on daily deal sites do, because it gives them exposure and also highlights their strengths, so that patients can make intelligent decisions. The concept of affordable health care is something the physicians on Save On Medical support. Dr. Jayson Lord of Advanced Imaging Centers comments saying, “I don’t want to end up getting commoditized because a patient doesn’t think they can’t afford to get their annual screening, because here that is not the case.” We want patients to reach good health, that is what all physicians should want in the first place, that is why Save On Medical exists, to provide options for patients, to fill the voids in coverage left by their health insurance.