At Hearing Healthcare Practice, we appreciate there is so much, often too much, information on the internet, some of it helpful, some of it utterly misleading. Our goal is not only to help our clients but also to act as audiology guides helping them navigate the mass of information sources – good, bad, and terrible.
One area which understandably raises the greatest number of questions is the vast array of websites promoting hearing aid prices. On 1st October 2010 The Hearing Aid Council (HAC), our regulator for 42 years passed the responsibility of registration to The Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) – this following a five-year consultation process to make sure the same level of protection would be available to members of the public following a gap analysis.
The HAC had wide-reaching powers which included the regulation of all commercial transactions between a hearing provider and patient. The HCPC no longer has any authority in this area and this subsequently resulted in a change to how hearing aids are promoted. A pre-requisite requirement of the HAC was that every client had to have a thorough examination before hearing aids were considered and recommended. For this reason, the publishing of prices was not allowed. This was in order to protect the public and to make sure that people were not misled into purchasing hearing aids when they might require medical or surgical treatment instead. The resultant new professional registration removed any corporate responsibility as this was passed to the individual audiologist.
Over the last few years, we have witnessed more and more companies promoting hearing aids online with attractive pricing and promises of unlimited aftercare. As a hearing care provider for more than forty years, we understand the true costs of caring for our clients and, if we are to navigate the current economic cycle, it is incumbent on us to act with fiscal responsibility whilst also being financially prudent. We are aware some companies try to attract clients by advertising highly attractive pricing which, from our experience is likely to be unsustainable – particularly if they ignore the basic principles of generating sufficient income, managing cash flow, covering overheads, being able to employ a sufficiently talented team whilst creating reserves for re-investment. Ignoring just one of these business principles could place a company’s existence in jeopardy.
Sadly, this month we have already seen one hearing care company go into liquidation. Our thoughts are with those now unable to access the crucial aftercare they expect, the staff who have lost their jobs, and the suppliers who have been left unpaid. We hope this will be the only casualty this winter.
Our approach is heavily labour intensive and we employ only the best clinicians in the best environments, with only the best equipment at hand. We won’t compromise on this approach as it has stood us in good stead since 1981. It’s why we achieve the results we do, time and time again. Indeed, the time we spend guiding our clients is legendary!
Our charging policy is influenced by our experience, our success, our investment in our clinic, our clinical equipment, the time invested in each client’s hearing treatment, and guaranteeing our practice is staffed full time only with university-educated clinical staff. For transparency, we have published the following charging policy documents to explain how our prices are set.
Click HERE to read Our Charging Policy
Click HERE to request an appointment
If you any questions about our charging policy, or anything else, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
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