Worth it to pay for a consultation?

[TheDarkHour]

So I'm looking at the Farjo Hair Institute and they have two options for consultation; "Patient Affairs Co-ordinators (FREE)" and "Doctor (£95)". If anyone has visited this clinic (or just a paid consultation) what's the difference between the two and is it worth paying for the "Doctor" option? Also would the latter option have a more in depth look at my hair loss such as by using a microscope or something to examine my follicles/donor area? 

I previously had a consultation with another clinic and it was terrible. 

[baldiee]

You should not have to pay money for a consultation. Surgeons will usually take a look at you for free and determine if you are a candidate for a HT. If there are clinics that are charging you for a consultation, run away. Use the recommended hair transplant surgeons list on this website and do further research on who is the best for you. Also many people who have gone through hair transplantations on this forum will provide priceless advice to you completely for free. We are like a family here and take care of our own.  

Edited December 16, 2020 by baldiee

[TheDarkHour]

On 12/16/2020 at 3:27 AM, baldiee said:

You should not have to pay money for a consultation. Surgeons will usually take a look at you for free and determine if you are a candidate for a HT. If there are clinics that are charging you for a consultation, run away. Use the recommended hair transplant surgeons list on this website and do further research on who is the best for you. Also many people who have gone through hair transplantations on this forum will provide priceless advice to you completely for free. We are like a family here and take care of our own.  

I have mainly been using forums and such for help for the past few years. Still it would be nice to get my hair properly checked out by an actual surgeon. I have had two consultations; one with Belgravia centre (medical clinic) which was pretty good and another with Arshad's clinic which wasn't great. The consultation started 15 minutes later than scheduled and it was incredibly rushed; was about 30 minutes before the surgeon I was speaking to just abruptly ended the call. 

Was told by another member here that it can be worth paying for a consultation since the surgeon cam examine the strength of your follicles in your donor area and such better.

[pkipling]

I completely disagree that you should run away from any surgeon who charges a consultation fee, and I'm not sure why there's this expectation from some people in this community that surgeons should give their time away for free when we rarely ask that of any other profession.

Whether or not a surgeon charges a consultation fee has absolutely zero bearings on whether or not they are a good/ethical surgeon. Are there surgeons who charge and then don't deliver anything in the consultation to justify it? Sure. But there are also surgeons who take the consultations very seriously and use that time to go in depth with the patient and give a very thorough examination, answer all their questions, and really take the time to get to know them and properly assess their situation. Not only is there tremendous value in this, it also keeps these surgeons (who often have very limited time, mind you) from being bombarded with people who book appointments with no real intention of actually following through. In fact, patients that book free appointments often don't even show up at all (because they have nothing on the line) which takes away/postpones opportunities for those of us who are serious about wanting a solution to get an appointment to meet with these surgeons. 

The overall point I'm making is that it's not a black and white answer. Is it worth it to pay for a consultation? It depends on the surgeon. Be upfront and ask them what you will get out of it, how much time will you have with the doctor, etc. Are there great surgeons that charge for consultations? Yes. Are there great surgeons who don't charge for consultations? Also yes. And personally, I wouldn't let that be a deciding factor in the slightest sense either way. 

Oh... And for what it's worth, even surgeons who do charge a consultation fee will often provide other opportunities to be seen for free, such as an Open House, online Q&A's, etc. - and even if you do pay, that money is transferred to your procedure should you book with them. FYI.

[baldiee]

1 hour ago, pkipling said:

I completely disagree that you should run away from any surgeon who charges a consultation fee, and I'm not sure why there's this expectation from some people in this community that surgeons should give their time away for free when we rarely ask that of any other profession.

Whether or not a surgeon charges a consultation fee has absolutely zero bearings on whether or not they are a good/ethical surgeon. Are there surgeons who charge and then don't deliver anything in the consultation to justify it? Sure. But there are also surgeons who take the consultations very seriously and use that time to go in depth with the patient and give a very thorough examination, answer all their questions, and really take the time to get to know them and properly assess their situation. Not only is there tremendous value in this, it also keeps these surgeons (who often have very limited time, mind you) from being bombarded with people who book appointments with no real intention of actually following through. In fact, patients that book free appointments often don't even show up at all (because they have nothing on the line) which takes away/postpones opportunities for those of us who are serious about wanting a solution to get an appointment to meet with these surgeons. 

The overall point I'm making is that it's not a black and white answer. Is it worth it to pay for a consultation? It depends on the surgeon. Be upfront and ask them what you will get out of it, how much time will you have with the doctor, etc. Are there great surgeons that charge for consultations? Yes. Are there great surgeons who don't charge for consultations? Also yes. And personally, I wouldn't let that be a deciding factor in the slightest sense either way. 

Oh... And for what it's worth, even surgeons who do charge a consultation fee will often provide other opportunities to be seen for free, such as an Open House, online Q&A's, etc. - and even if you do pay, that money is transferred to your procedure should you book with them. FYI.

Good points. Yeah it depends on the surgeon. If they are highly rated/recommended (especially from the list on these forums, it may be worth paying). But if it’s from a small clinic (or a place with unknown history/reviews), then paying them might be kinda iffy. OP, I still recommend picking one of the surgeons on this Forums list and go from there. 

Edited December 17, 2020 by baldiee