Doctors Using Coupon Websites To Attract New Patients
By Ian Bush
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - If you don't have health insurance -- or don't have good coverage -- one answer could be a click away.
Restaurants and spa treatments are common coupon fare on sites like Groupon and LivingSocial.
Participation is usually good exposure, especially for new businesses.
"We're just open over a month now."
But Mark Hoang isn't serving steak or painting fingernails.
"I'm a DMD -- a dentist."
He put a deal on Groupon: $39 for a dental exam, x-rays and cleaning at his new Avenue of the Arts practice in Philadelphia.
"It's been great! We're getting a lot of coupons being bought."
He says it's a $200 savings.
"I don't know if the retention rate is going to be high. What I want to do is get my name out there, let them know who I am."
It's one of the most popular recent local offers -- not surprising, with the many who don't have any coverage for their chompers.
Local Offer Network, which monitors deals, says medical treatment discounts on the coupon sites more than doubled in the past year.
