How Dermatology and Plastic Surgery Practices Fill Open Appointment Slots With Self-Pay Patients

Beyond Med does this. It is not insurance, it does not pay your practice, and you submit no claims to it.

Dermatology and plastic surgery practices carry a large share of self-pay demand: injectables, laser treatments, body contouring and most cosmetic consultations are rarely billed to insurance at all. Beyond Med's participating providers span health, wellness and elective-care categories, and dermatology and aesthetic services are one of them. The question most practices face is how to reach the ones who have not found a specific practice yet, without giving away margin to a daily-deal site or raising paid-ad spend every quarter.

Key takeaways

• Beyond Med is not insurance. It runs alongside the insurance billing a practice already does for medically necessary dermatology.
• It lists your practice to employer-based members who search by treatment, specialty and location.
• Members normally receive about 20% off on average. The practice sets the services and the number on its own agreement.
• Members pay the practice directly, usually at the point of service. There is no claim to submit to Beyond Med.
• Beyond Med does not take a cut of the transaction and does not run as a daily-deal marketplace. The member pays the practice, not a third-party platform.
• Beyond Med does not guarantee patient volume, and a signed agreement does not make a practice listed until review and activation are complete.

How can a provider network help fill open slots in a dermatology or plastic surgery practice?

Beyond Med members can search the provider directory by treatment, specialty and location, or ask the Concierge Team for a recommendation. Approved practices may also be featured in member newsletters, social channels and employer Open Enrollment, depending on category, location and member demand. For a practice with unfilled injectable, laser or consultation slots, this is a way to reach members who are already looking for the service.

This works best for services with real open capacity: a laser suite that sits empty midweek, an injector with gaps between bookings, a body-contouring program still building a patient base. Beyond Med does not promise a number of searches or bookings.

Is this the same as running a daily-deal promotion?

No, and the difference matters for margin. A daily-deal platform charges the practice a commission on each voucher redeemed, at a rate set in its contract, and it attracts people actively comparison-shopping for the cheapest deal rather than a specific practice. Beyond Med members pay the practice directly, at the practice's own agreed member price, with no third-party platform taking a cut of the transaction. The practice also sets which services it lists and the discount it is comfortable offering, rather than deal terms set by the platform. And anyone can browse a deal site, while Beyond Med members have already paid for a membership to use the provider network, so they come intending to book.

What self-pay patients does this reach?

Two groups typically make up this demand:

• Patients booking a cosmetic or elective service that insurance never covers, such as most injectables, laser hair removal, body contouring and cosmetic consultations.
• Patients whose medical dermatology visit is covered but who are adding an elective service during the same relationship, such as a cosmetic procedure alongside a covered skin check.

Beyond Med does not evaluate whether any member is a good clinical candidate for a procedure. That stays with the practice.

Does this replace or compete with the insurance billing my practice already does?

No. A practice keeps every payer relationship it already has for medically necessary dermatology. Beyond Med applies only to the services a practice chooses to list at a member price, and those are typically the elective and cosmetic services that were never billed to insurance in the first place. Participation is nonexclusive, so there is no choice to make between insurance billing and this channel.

What does it cost to join, and how does payment work?

The provider agreement and addendum published on beyondmedplans.com describe no enrollment, monthly or listing fee, and set no minimum patient volume. Review the current agreement for your state for any applicable charge. What a practice gives up is margin on the services it lists: members normally receive about 20% off on average, and the practice writes the number and the service list on its own agreement.

Members pay the practice directly under its normal self-pay process, usually at the point of service. There is no claim submitted to Beyond Med and no reimbursement cycle to wait on.

How does this compare with the other ways a practice fills self-pay capacity?

These are not mutually exclusive. Many practices that fill capacity reliably run more than one channel at once, and a provider network is one with no enrollment or monthly fee in the published agreement that does not route payment through a third party.

Is a provider network right for every dermatology or plastic surgery practice?

Not automatically. It is a weaker fit for a practice that is:

• already fully booked on the services it would list, with no open capacity to fill;
• unwilling to honor a consistent member price once agreed;
• unable to keep its locations, providers and listed services current; or
• expecting Beyond Med to guarantee a number of patients or reimburse the practice directly.

For a practice with real open capacity on injectables, laser treatments, body contouring or consultations, and a member price it can hold consistently, the network reaches self-pay demand that a daily-deal platform reaches only by taking a commission, and that paid advertising reaches only as long as the spend continues.

Conclusion

A dermatology or plastic surgery practice does not need to discount through a third-party deal platform to fill self-pay capacity. A provider network reaches members who are already looking for the service, without a platform taking a cut of the transaction. To review the agreement for your state, start at beyondmedplans.com/for-providers, email info@beyondmedplans.com or call 1-844-267-6192. Practices verify member eligibility at beyondmedplans.com/eligibility-check. Before you apply, read how Beyond Med works for providers and what joining costs a practice.

Key terms glossary

Self-pay patient. A patient who pays a practice directly, whether by choice, because a service is not covered, or because a coverage limit has been reached.

Member price. The agreed discounted price or percentage a participating practice charges Beyond Med members for listed services.

Daily-deal platform. A third-party site that sells discounted vouchers for a practice's services and keeps a commission on each voucher redeemed.

Elective service. A procedure the patient chooses and pays for directly, as distinct from a medically necessary service billed to insurance.

Frequently asked questions

Is Beyond Med insurance?

No. Beyond Med gives members access to agreed member prices at participating practices. It does not underwrite risk, does not pay claims and is not an insurance company.

Will joining affect the insurance billing my practice already does?

No. Participation is nonexclusive. Beyond Med runs alongside the insurance billing a practice already does for medically necessary care, and applies only to the services a practice chooses to list at a member price.

How is this different from running a daily-deal promotion?

A daily-deal platform charges the practice a commission on each voucher redeemed and attracts comparison-shoppers rather than a specific practice. Beyond Med members pay the practice directly at the practice's own agreed price, with no platform commission.

Which patients come through the network?

Members looking for an elective dermatology or aesthetic service they pay for directly. Beyond Med does not guarantee any number of patients.

How much does it cost to join, and is there a minimum patient volume?

The provider agreement and addendum published on beyondmedplans.com describe no enrollment, monthly or listing fee and no minimum patient volume. The cost is the member discount the practice agrees, normally about 20% off on average.

Is this a good fit for every dermatology or plastic surgery practice?

Not automatically. It is a weaker fit for a practice already fully booked on the services it would list, or one that cannot hold a consistent member price.

Does a signed agreement make a practice listed?

No. Beyond Med reviews credentials and provider information first, and a practice is listed after final approval and activation.

Beyond Med is not insurance. It provides discounts at participating providers and does not make payments to providers. Members pay providers directly.