“Can a doctor charge a fee for giving me biopsy results?”

Yes, in most cases, doctors may charge a fee for providing biopsy results. To learn more, connect with me at drjeromepuryear.com. Thank you!

Hello, Good question but no straightforward answer. Of note: prior to the availability of telehealth that blossomed during the COVID Pandemic, we physicians could never bill for our time talking to patients on the telephone. In my 40 years as a family physician, I have spent countless hours on the telephone talking to patients about their illnesses, concerns, lab results, biopsy reports & for FREE. Nonetheless, no regrets; I love my profession as a family doctor. But times change & presently, by law, providers (physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants) are able to bill patient's insurance (if you are self-pay, I recommend you inquire if the doctor's office has a self-pay discounted fee schedule - many offices do have one, OR one can ask to pay in installments) for time spent (whether in the office, via telehealth on video or just on the phone) to explain the details/significance/next steps of any test result. Sorry - most of today's physicians are employed & not in private practice (as I was x 31 years) & cannot make their own decisions on charging patients or not. A corporate billing department is often the 'person' sending out the bills. You can appeal a bill with the billing department (it may be a hassle but be persistent if you feel someone is taking advantage of you). Both my accountant and my lawyer charge by the minute, so in their offices, I don't even accept the water or coffee they offer because it takes time to give it to me & when on the phone I just discuss what is needed & say goodbye.

Yes because it involves a follow plan & decision. That requires time and also many negative results over time have to be followed for conversion again wish requires time on part of the dr .. once time is used and a follow up plan is discussed with a patient that is a time billing by Medicare federal guidelines and most commercial insurance follow those . It also depends on the type of normal result again any tissue biopsy is a doctor to patient conversation and should be in the patients chart .. that is billed and documented .. many patients don’t follow up and major errors occur .

Your doctor can charge for offering care to you. Giving results is part of care. It gets complicated in terms of the level of thought and planning involved. A related question is if your insurance company will allow such a charge...
 
 

There is no one answer. Some doctors will do it without extra charges (most common). Some doctors, especially if this task took time/effort, might charge. Ideally, they should communicate their plan of charging or not upfront, without surprises.

Yes if it’s an office visit or Telehealth. There’s a charge every time you have a visit with a doctor.