I don’t do meet-and-greets.
It is not that we get a huge number of calls for them. Maybe once a week a new patient will call, asking to “interview” me to see if we’re a good match and to review my credentials.
Dr. Allan M. Block
I’m not playing this game. My credentials are on my office website, as well as many rate-a-doc sites that I have no affiliation with. I’m not running a concierge practice where I ask you to pay up front.
My time is valuable. If you need a neurologist, I’m happy to see you and try to help. But your insurance doesn’t pay me to do “interviews.” And when we’ve quoted people a fee for the time, they get indignant and hang up. They tell my secretary they’ll take their business elsewhere, which is fine with me.
I have to wonder how many other neurologists they go through with this routine. I don’t know any who do this, at least in my area of town. By the time they call my office, they’ve likely already tried five other neurologists.
I suppose some will argue in favor of it, maybe as a way of weeding out people who you really don’t want in your practice or with whom you are genuinely a bad personality match. To me, it’s not worth it.
Unfortunately, modern medicine is trying to squeeze as many dollars out of the limited office time you have. I already work through lunch. I’m not going to take unpaid visits just so that people can decide if my dress habits, hygiene, or personality are up to their standards.
I see patients as they come. If they don’t like me, nobody is forcing them to stay. But I’m not going to do a complimentary meet-and-greet so they can judge me or try to get free medical advice.
Dr. Block has a solo neurology practice in Scottsdale, Ariz.