Medical professionals are increasingly adding aesthetic procedures to their current medical practice. This is generally done to diversify incoming revenue, de-emphasize reliance on government for-fee services, provide additional services to an existing patient base or simply to challenge a practitioner by pursuing an additional area of expertise. Often, with a relatively small investment, a practitioner can add significant revenue, including the associated profit, and result in better and more expansive patient care. And beyond a financial reward, diversifying a practice can enable a more satisfying work/life balance, provide learning opportunities for practitioners and staff, not to mention the sense of fulfillment from the joy brought to patients.
Patients of every demographic invest in their well-being by leveraging modern aesthetic medicine to suspend the effects of aging, correct skin irregularities, or improve the overall health of their skin. It isn’t hard to attract and engage aesthetics patients with effective and well-presented technologies. But before adding new procedures, proper research, training, and implementation are key in successfully introducing new treatments.
We’ve gathered some crucial considerations when implementing aesthetic procedures.
Know your patient demographic
This will guide the practitioner’s selection of services so that there is sufficient treatment demand to see a return on investment. Treatments such as micro-needling and laser hair removal are growing in popularity across all age groups, while a more specific treatment such as body sculpting has a very specific age group to which these services are targeted.
Develop revenue goals that can be weighed against the cost of the device
Depending on the piece of equipment, with less than ten treatments, the monthly cost of the lease or a significant portion of that cost can be recovered. When considering revenue goals, a practitioner should ensure that service prices reflect the competencies the practitioner and staff. Many people would prefer to have their treatments in a medical office and expect to pay for this expertise, so often the status of the medical director will justify premium pricing.
Understand operating and maintenance costs
Understanding the operating costs of the equipment acquired and the impact on overall earning is just one part of the equation; the other part is the cost and burden of ordering consumables and maintaining proper inventories. Ensure that vendors have seamless, simple and efficient ordering capabilities and are have proper fulfillment guidelines and performance.
Consider current staff capabilities and what skill sets may be required
With appropriate oversight by a medical director, many available aesthetic treatments can be completed by a technician, aesthetician or a nurse. Which means that while the practice medical director is seeing patients, a full-time staff member can be providing these services to clients.
A marketing strategy that speaks to your patients
Social media is a powerful way to speak to new and existing patients. Working with vendors who have a robust marketing and social media strategy is the easiest way to maximize the impact of an aesthetic device to a practice. Creating a library of “before and after” pictures is another powerful tool you can use for social media or in-clinic advertising. Being a KOL (Key Opinion Leader) in the industry is another way you can work with your vendor to increase your exposure in the marketplace and develop a reputation for reliable and high-quality treatments.
Equipment not approved by Health Canada
There are a number of options out there for devices like microneedling pens, light-based therapies, and other procedures. Not all of them are approved by Health Canada, which is important for liability as well as the assurance that the equipment will function optimally, not to mention for professional and risk-mitigation purposes.
Not thoroughly assessing the patient
There are number of factors to consider when assessing a patient. Are their expectations realistic? How much time do you need for each procedure? Ensuring that patient expectations are met, and clearly communicating expected results will help ensure satisfied patients.
Taking shortcuts on training
Each person performing procedures should not only have the appropriate licence, but should have thorough product training from the supplier. Reputable companies offer training and provide a full complement of training resources. Salient, for example, has launched an online training portal to facilitate initial training, retraining of new or existing staff, and a full library of training and technical resources.
Like all new ventures, fully understanding the requirements and implications regarding a proposed addition to a practice is critical. It’s important to us here at Salient that a practitioner has the best information available to enable making the right decision. We are here to assist any professional looking for direction on how to make their practice more profitable with aesthetic treatments.
Written By: Danielle Greenidge
