3.6.00 - Although you cannot bid for a better kidney online, as of today you can bid for better breasts.

Medicine Online.com's Bid for Surgery launched today, with a mission to become the dominant online resource and auction for purchasers and providers of elective cosmetic surgery, cosmetic dental procedures, laser eyesight correction surgery (LASIK), and podiatric surgery procedures.

In layman's terms that means liposuction; rhinoplasty; breast enlargement, reduction, and lifting; face lifts; eyelid modification; hair replacement and removal; and chemical face peels. Dental procedures offered include whitening, bonding, veneers, porcelain crowns, and implants, while those with less-than-perfect feet can be corrected with podiatric surgery, including bunion removal.

The auction space is a component of Medicine Online.com, a resource site for the healthcare industry that includes content about healthcare, an online consultation service, a search engine for hospitals and physicians, and extensive resources concerning the healthcare industry.

How It Works
Bid for Surgery uses the reverse-auction format: potential purchasers of the surgery post their wants online, with qualified surgeons then bidding for the privilege of providing the surgery. The whole process is "blind," meaning neither patient nor surgeon knows the name of the other party until the auction is complete.

Before submitting a request, the potential patient first fills out an extensive questionnaire, providing his or her social security number and medical history, as well as agreeing to a customer participation agreement. Stipulations of this contract include the proviso that patients must seek a free consultation before entering into any agreement with a surgeon and keep Medicine Online.com aware of any such agreement. Patients must also be aware that prices may change after the face-to-face consultation with a surgeon; if a patient believes a surgeon has misrepresented his or her services during an auction, he or she must notify the site about the fraud.

Once a patient has submitted a request, doctors who are registered with Medicine Online.com and who specialize in the requested procedure are emailed. They then have 72 hours to bid their "total procedure fee"--meaning all facility fees, diagnostic exams, and any other fees associated with the procedure. This bid is accompanied by information regarding their board certification, residency training, years in practice, recent surgical experience in the specific procedure, and other relevant background information.

Doctors may bid more than once to lower their cost and compete effectively; patients can see these bids posted live at the Web site. After the auction closes, patients have seven days to review bids and credentials and schedule the mandatory face-to-face consultation.

For the first few months, potential patients and bidding surgeons will not have to pay a fee to use the site, which is limited to Southern California participants for now.

Doctors Credentials
Bid for Surgery makes it clear that it does not validate or verify doctors' credentials, nor will it refer or recommend particular doctors. However, for a surgeon or dentist to participate in an auction, he or she must register with Medicine Online.com, providing a license number, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration number, and an office address. The site also provides information on how to choose a surgeon or dentist.

Recognizing that the healthcare industry is fraught with regulations, MedicineOnline.com also has legal counsel to monitor its compliance with federal and state laws. Beyond that, it's caveat emptor for those patients wanting to bid.

According to Medicine Online.com's chief operating officer Michael Sussman, prices for these procedures vary widely, even by geography. For example, face peels can cost from $500 to $1,500 while LASIK runs from $2,900 in rural areas to $5,000 in the Big Apple.

Despite that, there are plenty of patients seeking a more beautiful body, better teeth, or less grotesque feet on Bid for Surgery's first day of business. This morning there were over 350 auctions, mostly for Botox injections and bunion surgery.

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