Raise your fee on one fixed date each year, after checking what nearby GPs and chains charge. Give families several weeks' notice, train the desk on one calm line, and keep existing chronic care plans at their agreed price until renewal. Then do the maths: a modest rise usually lets you lose a surprising number of visits before you earn less than before.
Your fee has been ₹300 since 2019. In that time, your nurse's salary has gone up twice, your rent has gone up every year, your electricity bill has doubled in summer and you have become a far more experienced doctor. Your fee has stayed exactly where it was.
Most family doctors I meet are scared of this one decision. "My patients are like family. How can I charge them more?" I understand the feeling. But a fee that never moves is a pay cut you give yourself every single year. Here is how to raise it without losing the families who matter.
When is it time to raise a family doctor's fee?
Look for these signals. If two or three are true, you are underpriced.
- You have not raised it in two years or more.
- Your evening OPD is regularly full, and patients wait.
- Your costs have clearly gone up: salaries, rent, consumables.
- You have added something: a nurse station, booked slots, home visits, a cleaner clinic, a new qualification.
- Nearby GPs and chains charge more for a similar visit.
The book's rule is simple. Every year's rise should at least cover your rising costs, and in most years that means somewhere around 5 to 15%. Pick one date every year, like the start of the financial year, and make it a habit.
How do you read local fees properly?
Do not guess. Find out. Make a short list of ten or so options a family near you might use, and check what each charges.
| Option nearby | Consultation fee | What is included | Timings | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP 1 | ||||
| GP 2 | ||||
| Polyclinic or chain | ||||
| Hospital OPD nearby | ||||
| Your clinic |
Call as a patient, or ask a friend to. Note what each includes: is a follow-up within a week free, is there a nurse check, how long is the wait? You are not trying to match anyone. You are trying to understand where you sit. If you are well below similar clinics while offering more, you have room.
How much notice should you give families?
Several weeks. Four to six is a good range. Long enough that nobody feels ambushed, short enough that people remember.
- A clear notice at the desk with the new fee and the date it starts.
- One WhatsApp message to registered families, warm and short.
- The desk mentions it to every patient for the weeks before the change.
- Update the fee sheet, website and Google profile on the same day the change takes effect.
Here is an example WhatsApp message: "Namaste. From 1 April, our consultation fee will be ₹400. We review our fees once a year to keep up with costs and keep improving the clinic. Thank you for trusting us with your family's health. Dr Sharma's Clinic."
No apology. No long justification. Just clear, respectful information.
What should the desk say when a patient asks?
They will ask. Give your desk one calm line, and practise it in a team huddle so nobody stumbles.
Patient: "Arre, fee badh gayi?"
Front desk: "Yes, from this month it's ₹400. Doctor reviews fees once a year, and we've added the nurse check before every visit. It's the same for every patient."
Patient: "Pehle toh ₹300 tha."
Front desk: "I know. It hadn't changed in a few years. Doctor wanted to keep improving the clinic without cutting corners."
The key words are "the same for every patient". The moment the desk starts bargaining, the new fee is meaningless.
How do you protect elderly and long-standing patients?
This is where family doctors rightly worry most. A few ways to be fair without undermining the change:
- Keep chronic care plans at their agreed price until renewal. Anyone who paid for a year of care finishes that year at the old price.
- Honour anything already quoted, such as a procedure or a course you priced before the change.
- Raise in a modest step, rather than one big jump after years of nothing.
- Handle genuine hardship privately, as the doctor's personal decision for an individual patient, never as an advertised concession or a desk rule.
What I would not do is create a cheaper rate that half your patients qualify for. That just keeps the old fee under a different name, and patients notice who pays what.
How many patients can you lose before the rise stops paying off?
This is the maths that takes the fear away. The figures below are an example; plug in your own.
Current fee ₹400. Your real cost per visit (staff, consumables, a share of rent) ₹120. Profit per visit today: ₹280. 1,200 visits a month x ₹280 = ₹3,36,000 profit. New fee ₹500. Profit per visit: ₹380. Visits needed to earn the same: ₹3,36,000 ÷ ₹380 = about 884.
You could lose about 316 visits a month, more than a quarter of your volume, before you earned less than you do today. In practice, family practices that raise fees modestly and explain them well rarely lose anything close to that.
| Fee rise | New profit per visit | Visits needed to match ₹3,36,000 | Visits you could lose |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹400 to ₹450 | ₹330 | About 1,018 | About 182 |
| ₹400 to ₹500 | ₹380 | About 884 | About 316 |
| ₹400 to ₹550 | ₹430 | About 781 | About 419 |
After the change, watch your numbers for eight to twelve weeks: visits per day, new families and returning patients. Change nothing else in that time, so you know what the fee did.
The full pricing method is in Good Doctors Go Broke. Our front desk training gives your team the words, and our growth consulting can help family doctors set the right number.
The short version
- A fee that never moves is a pay cut every year. Review it on one fixed date annually.
- Check what ten nearby options charge and include before deciding.
- Give four to six weeks' notice, and update everything on the same day.
- Train the desk on one calm line: the same fee for every patient.
- Protect existing plans and quotes, handle hardship privately, and do the maths before you worry.
Frequently asked questions
How often should a family doctor increase the consultation fee?
Once a year, on a fixed date such as the start of the financial year. Each rise should at least cover your rising costs, which in most years means a modest step. A fixed date stops you agonising, and patients and staff get used to it.
How do I tell patients my consultation fee is going up?
Give four to six weeks' notice with a clear notice at the desk and one short WhatsApp message to registered families. State the new fee and the date, thank them, and avoid apologising or over-explaining. Train the desk to give the same calm answer to everyone.
Will I lose patients if I raise my fee?
Some families may leave, but usually far fewer than doctors fear. Work out how many visits you could lose before profit falls, which is often a surprisingly large number. Then raise modestly, explain it well and watch your numbers for eight to twelve weeks.
Should elderly patients pay a lower consultation fee?
Avoid creating a cheaper rate many patients qualify for, because it quietly keeps the old fee and patients notice who pays what. Keep existing care plans at their agreed price until renewal, and let the doctor handle genuine hardship privately, case by case.
On a free growth call, my team traces your last month from enquiry to treatment and shows you your biggest leak in rupees.
