Pricing policy

Updated Dec. 30, 2015. See the changes under the blue headings.

Prolog and principles

In 2013, in A turning point for patient voices and Prices must have integrity, I laid out my thinking: a professional price policy must make sense, and the rules must be real – fair to all clients and consistently enforced.  Re “making sense,” I’m an evangelist – an activist with a cause – so my price policy offers ways for clients to earn discounts by furthering the cause.

Update as 2016 starts: As the seventh year of this work starts, three things are newly clear, different from any past year:

• The time has come to reach out to the public, including community health workers.

• Nursing is turning out to be a great role in healthcare for making patient engagement a clinical reality. Nurses spend much more time face-to-face with patients and families.

• The time has also come to get our claws into the world of medical education curriculum, so we start growing the next generation of doctors and nurses with patient empowerment “baked in” to their thinking.

As you’ll see, those three factors are reflected below. Here is the policy, fully aligned with my values as an activist for the “Let Patients Help Heal Healthcare” social movement.

1. Full price.

Event organizers, call or write for my current speech pricing. As my testimonials page shows, I deliver.

2. Add a Promoted Public Event: 25% discount (new for 2016)

It’s time to start engaging the public (ordinary citizens) in patient engagement – teaching people the rationale for (and the how-to’s of) being engaged, activated partners in their health and their care.  So, if I’m doing a speech for you, I’ll do a second speech open to the public (and tuned to them), if you will handle the logistics and get it promoted in the local media … and I’ll knock 25% off the price of your speech. (Note: a particularly great target for these events is community health workers.)

Yes, I’ll do two speeches for less than the price of one. In essence I’m buying your help in spreading the word to the general public.

3. “Pay me with action” – for people already generating patient engagement as a reality

I used to call this the “impact partner” policy.

Want a discount? Help create real impact for the “Let Patients Help” movement described in my book. The cooler your work, the better the discount could be. There are no firm criteria here – we’re all making this up as we go.

One client earned this by designing high quality posters based on the “tip sheets” in Let Patients Help. the posters will be shared worldwide. Another example is a government agency who’s developed deep, well-thought-out patient engagement plans that I love.

4. Medical & nursing school classroom lectures (new for 2016)

I’m thrilled that medical and nursing education are starting to work patient engagement into the curriculum! In 2015 I was the Mayo Clinic’s Visiting Professor in Internal Medicine, and I spoke at two medical school events (in the Netherlands and at Stanford Medicine-X’s “MedX | Ed” event), and began working with nursing education. To support this initiative:

I will speak at medical and nursing schools free. Of course, an honorarium will still be much appreciated, but I will no longer require my usual professional fees – just travel expenses. And of course this is subject to availability. I’ll consult on curriculum, too, including donating content.

5. Multi-speech packages

On occasion I’ve negotiated multi-speech discounts. It can be several speeches through one buyer, or a client in one city may arrange related events, which minimizes my travel overhead.

6. “BFF” perpetual discount

I’m deeply indebted to the people who had the vision to pay me in the early days, and this is payback: If you hired me before 2013, at any price, that’s your price forever: you’re my BFF – my “best friend forever.”

For instance, one client just booked me for their third event. That shows commitment to the cause, so they’re still getting the price from our first contract, signed in 2012.

7. From the heart (expanded for 2016)

Occasionally, when it’s feasible, I’ll deeply discount or even donate a speech to people who are clearly aligned with my goals, hard at work (“pay me with action” above), and financially needy. This works especially well when your speech can be added to an existing trip.

8. Extreme exposure

I will, rarely, do one free just because it’s totally excellent exposure. The classic example is a TED or TEDMED or TEDx talk. Aside from the clear value of being known as a TED speaker, these companies create superbly produced videos, which potential clients can watch.

9. Simple quickies from home (webcasts and Skype)

When I became a grandfather I realized I want to stay home more. So I’m now offering speeches from home, via Skype or other screen share, for a big discount.  I’ll offer a standard speech via screenshare; or, for additional cost, we can add my customization process.
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There you have it: numerous options. Help e-patients change the world, and we’ll partner with you!