Rethinking Pricing Models to Focus on What Patients Really Want
As functional medicine continues to gain traction among healthcare practitioners, many clinics are eager to integrate these programs into their existing practices. However, not all launches go smoothly. According to Dr. Chad Woolner, who has coached over 300 clinics and worked with thousands of practitioners nationwide, there is one fundamental mistake that stands out: failing to understand what patients truly want. In this post, we’ll break down this common pitfall and explore a smarter, more patient-centered approach to building and pricing a successful functional medicine program.
Understanding the Typical Pricing Pitfall
When most practitioners launch a functional medicine program, their first question is often, “How should I price my services?” Dr. Woolner explains that the majority of clinics instinctively base their pricing on tangible elements: the practitioner’s time, the cost of lab tests, supplements, and various clinical tools. For example, they might:
– Set an hourly rate for consultations
– Add markups to lab tests and supplements
– Charge per use of different tools or assessments
While this model seems logical—after all, these elements do represent real costs—it completely misses the mark from the patient’s perspective.
Patients Don’t Want Time, Tests, or Tools—They Want Solutions
So, what’s wrong with pricing by time or product? According to Dr. Woolner, patients don’t actually value the practitioner’s time, the number of lab tests, or the laundry list of supplements. At the end of the day, what patients truly desire is a solution: they want a path to better health, symptom relief, or a specific outcome. The features (time, tests, supplements) are simply vehicles, not the destination.
Furthermore, this traditional pricing approach focuses heavily on program “features” rather than “outcomes.” It’s like selling the customer the car’s engine specifications when all they want is to reliably reach their destination.
The Danger of Becoming a Commodity
Another significant downside to bundling price around features is the risk of commoditization. When a functional medicine program is broken down into labor, lab fees, supplements, and tools, patients can, and often will, shop around for cheaper alternatives. They compare supplement prices online, look for discounted lab tests, or seek shorter consult times elsewhere. This turns your valuable services into mere commodities subject to price wars, which ultimately hurts both your business and your ability to deliver real results.
A Better Model: Packaging the Solution
Dr. Woolner and his team at Simplified Functional Medicine advocate for a solution-oriented approach. Instead of presenting patients with a menu of services or a la carte pricing, focus on the desired outcome and build your program backward from there. This means:
– Clearly identifying the solution your program delivers
– Structuring your services to provide maximum convenience and simplicity
– Increasing the perceived (and actual) likelihood that the patient will achieve their health goals
Programs built this way are not only easier for patients to understand, they also align with what patients value most: a fast, convenient, and effective path to the results they want.
Increasing Value and Willingness to Pay
By restructuring your offerings around tangible outcomes, both the real and perceived value of your functional medicine program increases. Patients are much more willing to invest in a service that promises and delivers a solution to their problems, rather than a bundle of unrelated transactions. As Dr. Woolner points out, a well-designed solution package:
– Reduces confusion
– Sets clear expectations
– Streamlines decision-making for the patient
– Differentiates your clinic from competitors
This approach takes you out of the commodity price war and positions you as a results-driven provider.
Takeaway: Build Your Program Around the Outcome
If you’re crafting or revising your functional medicine program, make sure it’s laser-focused on the result your patients are seeking. Design your offerings to maximize the likelihood of a successful outcome, and present them as complete solutions rather than a collection of features. Not only will this resonate more deeply with your patients, but it will also set your clinic up for sustainable success in the evolving field of functional medicine.
Stay tuned for the next insight as Dr. Woolner dives into the second most common mistake: the failure to launch.
