Laser Treatment MD - Filed under 'Laser Clinic'

December 2, 2009

Medical Spas a new resort for day spas.

Medical spas that provide Botox wrinkle treatments, laser hair removal, and liposuction and facial toning are faring better amid times of slower consumer spending. [Jupiter Images]

Spas and salons in New Jersey are hurting, along with the rest of the economy, but the relatively pricier medical spas among them seem to be better off, so says Hannelore Leavy, executive director of the International Medical Spa Association, in Union Township, which has 350 members worldwide, including about 30 in New Jersey.

The medical spa industry is faring better because its patrons are more affluent than those that patronize conventional day spas, Leavy said.

“In every recession, people buy more cosmetics because they want to look and feel good,” she said. Medical spas provide that “instant gratification,” she said.

Medical spas typically provide Botox wrinkle treatments, laser hair removal, and body contouring procedures like liposuction and facial toning, many of which have to be done under medical supervision, Leavy said.

Salons providing basic services like haircuts and nail jobs are also handling the recession better than expected because those are necessities, said Leavy, who also heads the 800-member Day Spa Association from her Union office. The day-spa industry has been badly hit because massages, facials and herbal wraps are considered luxuries, not necessities, she said.

Leavy said she is seeing the impact of the recession on the membership rolls of both her associations. The Day Spa Association, for example, has lost some 10 percent of its members over the past year.

But there is opportunity even within the day-spa industry, said Rosemary Weiner, chairwoman of the Association of Salon and Spa Professionals, also in Union Township. She said she found a ready buyer last December for her 3,500-square-foot Brass Rose Spa and Salon, in Blairstown, and secured a price just a couple of hundred dollars apart from what she sought.

Weiner said her association helps its roughly 100 members with counseling on retaining customers, better packaging of services and cost-control strategies. Leavy’s Day Spa Association has also put out a recession survival guide for its members, and has designated members in each state on the lookout for legislative changes.

One recently proposed legislative change fought by Weiner’s association was the state’s effort to ban Brazilian waxing, or waxing of the genital area, citing injuries. The association persuaded the state to drop the ban proposal, instead rewriting the legislation to address concerns.

“New Jersey would have been the only state in the country to ban it,” Weiner said. “It would have impacted salon and spa owners, and caused them a huge loss of revenue.”

The state remains one of the most stringent in terms of regulating medical spas, Leavy said, requiring doctors to serve as their promoters or investment allies — but she said her association welcomes such regulation.

“It’s not easy to hang out a shingle and start a [medical spa] business,” she said.

via njbiz.com

Filed under // Botox cosmetic surgeon Laser Clinic laser hair removal laser treatment Medical Spa medical spa advertising medical spa marketing plastic surgeon advertisng plastic surgeon marketing skin clinic

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November 23, 2009

How to run your medical spa or laser center in turbulent times.

If you’re involved with or own a medical spa, this question is no doubt on your mind.

In this article, I will give you several tips and tools to evaluate your laser centers culture and operations, so you can successfully navigate any economic downturn… And live to sell another day when the inevitable upturn comes around.

What is the Passion and Purpose of Your Medical Spa?

You reap what you sew. When you engage proactively and passionately in your business you will undoubtedly be successful and see your practice expand. It helps to articulate your passion for your medical spa.

At Assara Laser, our passion is to “help clients look and feel great, not fake.”

Why the Recession Drastically Affects Your Laser Clinics Bottom Line

You’ve probably noticed that generating revenue is not as easy as it once was. There are myriad reasons for this; from the decline in disposable income, to unemployment hitting record highs and tanking real estate valuations. As if these facts were not bleak enough, credit markets are virtually frozen so business owners are finding it nearly impossible to obtain small business loans and lines of credit. Refinancing current loans has become difficult for small businesses.

In short, we're operating in the perfect storm.

Accepting Reality and Responsibility Today

The easy way out is to close up shop and blame the recession. This will not help you going forward, it will not pay your devoted employees their wages, and most of all, it will not help your clients “look and feel great, not fake.” So, accept responsibility.

The hardships of the recession create a fact-pattern, problem to be solved; not a reason for failure. To paraphrase Michael Jackson, start, first, with the man in the mirror. Think about the following questions. And pay attention - there will be homework at the end of this article!

Finding Your Medspas Winning Competitive Difference?

Let’s be honest. The quality of your laser clinc's treatments are probably not drastically better than that of your competitors. The proprietary equipment and IPL or laser systems (Thermage, Fraxel, Titan) that you use are, for the most part, available to the competitive skin clinic market at large.

You may believe (and tell clients) that your microdermabrasion treatments are better because you use a diamond-tipped wand or aluminum oxide crystals. You may think that your IPLs or laser hair removal treatments are better because you use cryo-cooling or because you use chilled air cooling, or because you use a diode laser or because you use alexandrite lasers . . .

BUT . . .

Step in to your clients' shoes. To them, the bells and whistles of your Thermage or Fraxel device don't matter. Your clients already expect expert advice and cutting edge cosmetic lasers, IPLs and skin tighening equipment, so merely meeting this fundamental requirement is not a winning competitive difference.

What does matter to your clients are presentation, client interaction, customer service, reliability and consistency. Consider this carefully.

What is each of your medspas clients worth?

At Assara Laser, one of the most popular packages is our $449 per month Unlimited Laser Hair Removal Program. On average, a client that signs up for this program will remain a member of the Program for 7 months, depending on the results they wish to achieve. How much is a single unlimited client worth to us? A client in the program for 7 months, making a monthly payment of $449 is worth $3,143. For many laser clinic owners, a single laser hair removal client is worth more than a home mortgage payment!

Do you treat every single potential laser treatment client that contacts your laser clinic as if they’re worth $3,000?

What is your time and effort worth?

Before my partners and I built Assara Laser, I was an attorney. I still practice corporate law as a labor of love, when a friend or business contact has an exciting deal. I normally discount my rate to about $400 per hour, as law isn’t my primary source of income.

Assume an hour of your time is worth $400. Assume further that, every time your customers complain, you are willing to give a discount, or a free treatment and that, collectively, free and discounted treatments account for a 20% loss in your revenue. To make up for this lost revenue, how much more work do you have to do?

Well, let’s add 20% to your 10 hour day, which now makes it a 12 hour day. If your annual sales are say $1,000,000 per year, you’ve lost $200,000. This translates into 500 hours more of work you must do to bring your revenue back to status quo!

Is there a big difference between a day that starts at 9:00 a.m. and ends at 7:00 p.m. versus ending at 9:00 p.m. You betcha there is! Is there a big difference between a loss of $200,000 and a loss of zero. You betcha there is! And these differences drastically affect your quality of life.

How Can You Avoid Mistakes?

Mistakes are costly. A happy client is worth more than $3,000, and will likely refer business, the best and cheapest form of marketing. A single angry client will result in you working 2 hours more per day for the following seven work days, and will possibly diminish your reputation by badmouthing your medspa.

A lot of people think excellent customer service means free treatments. It doesn’t. Excellent customer service means delivering what you promise. You know the limitations and effectiveness of your treatments so promise only what you can deliver and do it consistently, with a smile on your face!

via Medical Spa MD

Filed under // Assara Laser Cutera Titan Fraxel IPL laser center laser clinic laser hair removal laser treament medical spa medical spa training medspa skin clinic Thermage

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November 15, 2009

Cosmetic Dermatology: No wait for Botox or Photofacials.

A study in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology says if you want to see a skin doctor about a changing mole, get ready to wait. The average wait time is 26 days. But if you want a Botox shot, it's just eight days, two-and-half weeks shorter. Here in mid-Missouri, two dermatologists say that's not true.

"There's a shortage of dermatologists nationally," dermatologist John Despain said. "Also, patients have direct access to dermatologists for skin care."

Dr. John Despain owns Despain Dermatology Center and Skintuition Medical Spa in Columbia, focusing on cosmetic dermatology like Botox. He says at his practice, clinical appointments always come before cosmetics.

"They are seen on a priority basis within a few days," Despain said. "If they're a new patient, if there's the ability to put them in a new patient slot, they priority over anyone calling for cosmetic concerns, of course."

At Dr. Lindall Perry's practice in Columbia, they treat all appointment requests the same.

"We don't have, quote, 'cosmetic appointments,'" he said.

Although Perry is booked through January, he says patients with skin problems can get appointments.

"We have open appointments in two weeks with our newer staff and they would take both a cosmetic patient, an acne patient, a wart patient," Perry said.

Perry says it can be a challenge juggling business and patient care.

"I like to think I have sound business practices," she said. "I do schedule myself very fully. My staff would say too full. My patients would say too full. We pay attention though to the frustration of long waits."

With a heavy focus on clinical treatments, Perry says he tries to see as many patients as possible. Often leaving the Botox appointments for after hours. He says money is a benefit of his practice, not the motivator.

"My desire everyday is to find every melanoma that's in front of me and not to miss that," he said.

As for Despain, he likes biopsies just as much as Botox.

"I view them as a compliment to each other," he said. "If I had to choose how to spend my time out of enjoyment or profitability, they're probably equal."

Both doctors say there's certainly a demand in mid-Missouri for cosmetic dermatology, but most of their patients and profits stem from clinical work. In the meantime, if you want to see a dermatologist, the best idea is to plan ahead.

via komu.com

Filed under // botox dermatologist laser clinic medical spa photofacial

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November 10, 2009

Medical Spa MD selects Sendside Networks as it's exclusive member communication platform.

Medical Spa MD selects Sendside Networks as it's exclusive communication platform.

Medical Spa MD today announced that it has selected Sendside Networks as it's exclusive member communication platform. A secure replacement to email, Sendside offers a 1:1 secure sales communication platform that offers high touch interactive messaging and real-time reporting and control for mission-critical communications in a secure environment.

"Sendside is the only solution that addresses our need to communicate easily but still allows us to protect confidential information," said Jeff Barson, Editor of Medical Spa MD.

"Unlike any other technology, Sendside gives us the ability to send interactive tabbed messages that allow recipients to fill out forms and actually make purchases 'inside' the message, without being redirected to an external link from an email. This gives us the ability to actually send the entire Medical Spa MD site directly through a message while retaining control and accessing all of Sendside's analytics and real time reporting.

For the first time we can see exactly who has read a message, downloaded and attachment, or forwarded a message to a collegue, providing us with an inside look at what a recipient is doing and offering a perfect opportunity of knowing when to send follow-up information.

The cost to create and send this type of content would be cost prohibitive using any other solution.

Best of all, it's free for the recipient and as easy to use as web based email."

Medical Spa MD is currently using Sendside to communicate with thousands of plastic surgeons, dermatologist, and cosmetic physician members who are running laser centers, skin clinics and laser treatment centers around the world.

* * *

ABOUT SENDSIDE NETWORKS, INC.
Utah-based Sendside® Networks, Inc. has developed Sendside—the 1 to 1 Sales Communication Platform that provides organizations a secure, interactive communications channel directly to their customers, prospective customers, clients and investors. Sendside combines secure, interactive messaging with file delivery, interactive forms, e-signatures, payments, and secure storage into a comprehensive communication and interaction platform unlike anything on the market today. Sendside currently has fifteen U.S. Patents pending including Sendside Markup Language (SML), Behavior-based Messaging (BBM), Multi-dimensional Messaging (MDM), Sendside eSign, on demand messaging, embedded payments and acknowledgement. www.sendside.com

ABOUT MEDICAL SPA MD
Medical Spa MD is a community of Plastic Surgeons, Dermatologists, Aesthetic Physicians, and Medical Spa Professionals. Medspa MD has Blogs, Forums, and Classified advertising. Members include 2,000+ members worldwide and medicalspa.com recieves more than 100,000 page views each month from physicians and individulals looking for informaton about cosmetic medicine and the lates advances in non-surgical technology.

via medicalspamd.com

Filed under // dermatologist doctor laser center laser clinic laser treatment medical spa medspa plastic surgeon skin clinic

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November 10, 2009

The Medical Aesthetic Practice Assocation (MAPA) chooses Medical Spa MD as it's exclusive technology platform.

Medical Spa MD has been chosen by MAPA - The Medical Aesthetic Practice Association as the exclusive technology platform for MAPA Members.

“This is a great day for MAPA”, explained Dr. Epstein. “Medical Spa MD has been a pioneer in information exchange within the cosmetic medical field for years now. His MedicalSpaMD.com Internet Website & Blog has already advance our knowledge by quantum leaps. Combining our manpower, our experience and our content with his robust internet platform will take us even further.”

The Medical Aesthetic Practice Association was formed in response to a need for information sharing in the Medical Aesthetic Practice area. The Medical Aesthetic Practice Association (MAPA) is THE Clinical and Business Information Exchange Forum for Aesthetic Medical Practices and their business and clinical staff.

Jeffrey E. Epstein, MD, MAPA’s founder and Executive Director explained the need and the purpose of MAPA, “the Medical Aesthetic Practice Association’s purpose is to promote and facilitate information exchange among Medical Aesthetic Practices. By sharing our ideas, experiences, opinions and insights, we can learn faster and benefit from each other’s successes and failures. In order to facilitate the convenient and high volume exchange of advanced business and clinical information, MAPA provides Internet Based Platforms for Medical Aesthetic Practice Owners and their Clinical Staff. MAPA also hosts live discussions in their Chat Rooms on a regular basis to promote real-time discussion about important, topical issues.”

MAPA & MSMD will soon have in excess of 2000 (two thousand) members. MAPA currently has Fifty Diamond Club Members who produce content and manage daily activities.

MAPA is planning on hosting their third clinical exchange meeting this Spring at the Cherry Hill Physician Training and Research Center. The meeting held in November 2008 was a huge success. There is no cost to attend these meetings. MAPA will also be meeting at this years ASLMS Conference in Baltimore, MD the first week in April.

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ABOUT MAPA
The Medical Aesthetic Practice Association’s purpose is to promote and facilitate information exchange among Medical Aesthetic Practices. By sharing our ideas, experiences, opinions and insights, we can learn faster and benefit from each other’s successes and failures. In order to facilitate the convenient and high volume exchange of advanced business and clinical information, MAPA provides Internet Based Platforms for Medical Aesthetic Practice Owners and their Clinical Staff. MAPA hosts live discussions in their Chat Rooms on a regular basis to promote real-time discussion about important, topical issues.

ABOUT MEDICAL SPA MD
Medical Spa MD is a community of Plastic Surgeons, Dermatologists, Aesthetic Physicians, and Medical Spa Professionals. Medspa MD has Blogs, Forums, and Classified advertising. Members include 2,000+ members worldwide and medicalspa.com recieves more than 100,000 page views each month from physicians and individulals looking for informaton about cosmetic medicine and the lates advances in non-surgical technology.

via medicalspamd.com

Filed under // laser center laser clinic laser treatments medical spa medspa skin clinic

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November 10, 2009

Paula D. Young RN joins Medical Spa MD

Medica lSpa MD is proud to announce the addition of Paula D. Young RN to it's editorial board.

"It's a fantastic addition to Medical Spa MDs ability to provide expert viewpoints from a diverse group of expert medical providers and business people", says Jeff Barson, Medical Spa MDs founder and publisher. "Paulas experience will give Medical Spa MD voice for mid-level medical providers an an invaluable resource for the growing number of medical estheticians and laser techinics who are visiting Medical Spa MD to learn."

"To really know what's going on in the aesthetic business you must join Medical Spa MD!", says Young. "Nowhere else can you find the information crucial to your success in this ever changing arena. From the classified ads section, to the professional community forum discussion threads, to real equipment reviews by aesthetic professionals. I especially value the articles on marketing and the community forum discussions on therapy management like melasma, fillers, laser lipolysis, and skin resurfacing. Medical Spa MD keeps me on my toes as a medical spa owner, marketer, and nurse!"

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ABOUT Paula D. Young RN

Paula is the staff nurse and co-owner of Young Medical Spa in the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania along with her husband Thomas E. Young, MD. Prior to establishing Young Medical Spa, Paula previously owned a Merle Norman Cosmetics national franchise, a full-service beauty salon and spa, and a chain of tanning salons. Most recently, Paula worked for Johnson & Johnson for over 10 years and held senior management positions in the medical and sales education, and customer relationship management departments. Her associations include:

Dermatology Nurses Association
American Academy of Medical Esthetic Professionals
Association of periOperative Registered Nurses
American Nurses Association
The Aesthetic Practice Association

Paula also holds a current license with the Cosmetology Board in the State of Pennsylvania. She has written for Medical Spa Report Magazine and authored a textbook on Advanced Aesthetic Practices.

ABOUT MEDICAL SPA MD
Medical Spa MD is a community of Plastic Surgeons, Dermatologists, Aesthetic Physicians, and Medical Spa Professionals. Medspa MD has Blogs, Forums, and Classified advertising. Members include 2,000+ members worldwide and medicalspa.com recieves more than 100,000 page views each month from physicians and individulals looking for informaton about cosmetic medicine and the lates advances in non-surgical technology.

via medicalspamd.com

Filed under // botox cosmetic medicine IPL laser clinic medical spa medspa skin clinic

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November 10, 2009

9 Top Tips For Medical Spa Success

If you're a plastic surgeon or dermatologist starting a medical spa, skin clinic, or laser center, you'll need to have all of your ducks in a row.

Here are 9 tips to keep your medspa in the black, and your laser treatments and Botox appointments full.

1. Have sufficient funds to kee your Medical Spa open for months.
Don’t even think about opening a Medical Spa unless you have the capital needed to bring it through the startup and first year of operation. Invariably, your planning will not deal with all of the unforeseen issues that can occur in the MedSpa industry. From regulatory compliance changes and training costs, to increased marketing costs. Under-capitalization is a leading indicator of business failure. You should considering a combination of various financing strategies from leasing to working capital.

2. Talk with other doctors who have successful, operating Medical Spas
Ask them what they would do the same, and what they would do differently. We are starting to see some established Medical Spas out there, try and learn from their experiences and best practices.

3. Join associations that help new Medical Spas succeed
They are a great source of experienced MedSpa owners, who have already gone through what you will. In addition, they often have members who have specialized in the MedSpa industry, including: business planning, marketing, design, dealing with regulatory issues, insurance and finance. The International Medical Spa Association even has a mentorship program that is available for new MedSpa owners. It is invaluable to chat with someone across the country who has had the same problems you may have, especially if you know they are not a local competitor!

4. Know your strengths and weaknesses
No one is strong in all areas, you may be an expert in age management medicine, but you may be weak on the business and marketing side. That’s fine, but you are going to need to identify the areas where you are weak and compensate. Not all areas require a permanent, full-time employee, you may consider hiring a consultant who has the necessary experience.

5. Watch your medical spa's monthly expenses
Especially during the startup phase of a MedSpa, it can be easy to see the glamour of having marble flooring, but is it really necessary? You may be better off adding another hair removal treatment room, which will generate income. Remember the old adage: “it will take twice as long and cost twice as much as you anticipated.”

6. Determine what need your Medical Spa meets.
As with any successful business, you need to meet a consumer demand. With 11,500 people joining the over 50 crowd every day, you have a great potential market. But you need to make sure you are where they can be found (i.e. medical centers, shopping centers, established communities).

7. Know your laser clinic's monthly cash flow.
You may think financial statements are only for accountants to understand, but you need to be able to read some key financial statements. Including the cash flow statement, this lets you know where the money is coming from and where it is going. You must always know your current cash flow situation, if you cannot pay your bills, you are effectively out of business. Botox, Restylane, Juvederm, IPL, cosmetic lasers... they're all expensive.

8. Open your medical spa because you want to.
Starting a MedSpa is going to consume two things: time and money. The profit potential of a MedSpa is huge, but if you are not doing what you really enjoy, it will show on your bottom-line! As you will probably be spending more time and money than you originally planned, you need to make sure operating a Medical Spa is what you really want to do.

9. Don’t hire family and friends
They may be able to provide you with valuable assistance during the startup phase, but they most likely will not be able to get you to that next level. This is where having an experienced MedSpa director is very important. Not only are they going to hire and train your employees, but they also will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the MedSpa. Hiring a competent MedSpa Director can allow you to run your MedSpa as a stand alone profit center; one that makes money whether you are there or not.

Filed under // botox laser center laser clinic laser treatment medical spa medspa skin clinic

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November 6, 2009

Skin Clinic MD (medspaMD) on Twitter

Skin Clinic MD: http://twitter.com/skinclin...

via Medical Spa MD

Skin Clinic MD is now publishing the latest news about medical spas, laser centers, skin clinics and laser clinics on Twitter.

Filed under // laser center Laser Clinic laser treatment Medical Spa medical spa MD skin clinic

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November 5, 2009

Advanced Medical Spa Aesthetics Training Course & Study Guide

Advanced Medical Spa Training Manual

The Advanced Medical Spa Esthetics Training Course & Study Guide is a two part learning cirriculum for non-physicians.

With 165 pages of quality content, this course is delivered in two parts that include a text book and a study guide. Use this course to train your staff and give them the information they need to make your medical spa a success.

Medical Esthetician Training Manual & Study Guide - $247

via medicalspamd.com

Medical Spa MD training manuals and ebooks are excellent resources for laser clinics, skin clinics, laser centers, and medspas.

Filed under // Laser Clinic medical esthetician Medical Spa medical spa book medical spa MD medical spa training manual skin clinic

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November 4, 2009

What is medical spa & laser clinic click fraud costing you?

Is click fraud costing your skin clinic or medical spa and driving up your prices? If you’re one of the tens of thousands of cosmetic medical practices, laser clinics and med spas advertising online with Google Adwords or Yahoo, don’t be surprised to find that at least some of the money you’re paying every month is sucked out of your marketing fund by click fraud.

The practice of “click fraud” began in the early days of the Internet’s popularity with software programs that automatically surfed Web sites to increase traffic figures. This led companies to develop policing technologies touted as antidotes to the problem. (Some marketing executives estimate that up to 20 percent of fees in certain advertising categories continue to be based on nonexistent consumers in today’s search industry.)

Don’t think it’s already happening to your skin clinic, med spa or laser clinic? Here’s a recent quote from Michael Caruso, CEO of click fraud services vendor ClickFacts in an interview:

“In particularly fraud prone verticals such as finance, class action lawsuits and medical, we see click fraud rates in the 30-45 percent range. These are all categories that see high keyword pricing in the auction model. That makes them particularly tasty for click fraud artists. “If you can make more money from the dark side than the light side of search, there are plenty of people who will take advantage. Plus, it’s not even technically illegal yet.”

There are two main ways that your skin clinics and medical spas marketing budget is being drained by click fraud:

First, your medical spas and laser clinics competitors who see your ad are simply clicking on it, draining your marketing budget and costing you advertising dollars. Second, fraudsters set up ‘affiliate sites’ that run skin clinics ads where they are clicked on by bots or employees. (These sites are the most damaging since you’re paying for every click without any return at all. Click fraud around skin clinics, med spas or laser clinics can be very lucrative since dermatology or plastic surgery clinics are becoming such a competitive market and the payment per click can be as high as $4-6.)

Unfortunately, to keep your medical spas budget safe you have very few tools. (Google just gave advertisers $90 million to compensate for click fraud as the result of a class action suit but you can bet they’re not that Google’s not interested in your individual account. Especially since they’re making money from click fraud when your ads are clicked on.)

Start by limiting your skin clinics exposure. If your dermatology or plastic surgery clinic is still running an Adwords or Yahoo campaign, they allow you to limit the maximum amount you spend in a day. Take advantage of this feature by limiting your maximum cost to what you can afford to spend. You can also look for the tracks of click fraud by examining the reports you might have available to you. Multiple clicks coming from the same IP address are a sure sign of fraud.

(Malaysia has become such a haven for click fraud around medspas and IPL laser treatments.)

If you’re going to run ppc ads, protect your skin clinic, med spa or laser clinic. You can be sure that you’re the only one trying to.

Medical Spa MD is a physician community of Plastic Surgeons & Cosmetic Dermatologists with more than 4,000 physician members. Visit MedicalSpaMD.com for plastic surgeon and cosmetic dermatologist forums and provides patient and physician information on IPL & cosmetic laser medical technologies and treatments.

Filed under // laser clinic medical spa medspa skin clinic

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