This is so important for any surgery where mistakes can be life-altering. When I was a teenager we cheaped out on braces with a dentist 3x cheaper than the other one we'd spoken to, and my teeth are now slightly misaligned and I have a fairly weak bite.
Fortunately it doesn't affect my outward appearance and I've gotten used to it as it's not too bad, so it was almost worth it for the valuable life lesson.
Most doctors will use the same equipment in the same area. For PRK they do a tomographic scan of your eye to determine a number of parameters, and then your doctor pre-programs the procedure.
In my case, the most direct action my doctor had during the procedure was cut back/replace the outer flap, and apply the drops.
I say this because 'cheap' (at least to me) implies someone with less skill or lower ability performing for a lower price. Since so much of the process is automated I'd say that only a small part of this applies.
Especially for those who are looking for a good price, ask revealing questions like where the equipment is, when it was recently obtained, how often this particular doctor has done it. And since costs aren't directly attributed to manual labor (and can easily crest 10k+ for a region), dont be afraid to negotiate and price compare.
I don’t believe it’s as simple as finding a more expensive provider to ensure better outcomes.
I don't know how you find the best in your area, but I was mostly referring to the strip mall lasik centers. If you aren't familiar with these, they are a budget lasik provider that has past generation equipment, run by technicians instead of eye doctors. They run ads on billboards, and in the local coupon books that are delivered to your house....These are the places that I think are mostly being referred to by the article.