How does the physician determine what price to charge a cash payer?
Simple. Do what any price shopper would do. Shop. Call the local pharmacies and find out what the cost of the medicine is. Very often, you can go onto their website and find out. Physicians are very busy and you should know your local markets. I suggest you call the pharmacies yourself and find out. You’ll only have to do this a couple of times and thereafter from time to time. For patients that have prescription cards, we advise the physician to charge whatever the co-payment is for a generic drug. Often, the physician can charge an extra dollar or two simply because of the ease and convenience of obtaining the prescription at the point of care. What patient wouldn’t want that? Ultimately, it is the physician who decides what to charge to their patients.
