Dr. MillerGotham Plastic Surgery, with locations in New York City and Los Angeles, recently began accepting cryptocurrency as payment for services. Practice Partner Philip Miller, M.D. says they were prompted to embrace the rapidly growing currency traded online by inquiries from both current and prospective patients. The practice accepts bitcoin, litecoin and etherium, in addition to traditional payment.
“We have yet to see an increase in business, per se,” Dr. Miller tells The Aesthetic Channel. “However, we have seen an increase in requests, and want to meet our patients’ requests.”
International patients, in particular, have asked about paying via cryptocurrency.
“One of the benefits of accepting cryptocurrency for international patients is that you do not need to translate the currency,” Dr. Miller explains. “This is in contrast to traditional currencies, for which there are daily fluctuations.”
In addition, because cryptocurrencies are not tied to any particular government, the ability to pay with the novel currency streamlines the payment and planning processes for international clients, thus avoiding “the red tape of exchanging cryptocurrency for U.S. dollars,” Dr. Miller says.
As for liabilities, “There are none, because we are using an approved clearing house that complies with all regulations,” Dr. Miller says.
Gotham Plastic Surgery prides itself on staying ahead of trends, including the firm’s adaption of technology, as a way to offer quality to patients, according to Dr. Miller. That same philosophy extends to giving clients payment options.
Dr. Miller encourages other cosmetic practices with a large number of international patients or with multiple requests for cryptocurrency to also consider accepting the currency. Moreover, he predicts that cryptocurrency will become a major player in the global economy, and is glad that his practice is an early adopter.
“Patients are pleased, as many millennial patients already have been using cryptocurrency for other transactions outside of plastic surgery,” Dr. Miller observes.
