What would you consider the negative aspects to performing these procedures in your office?

Does it turn your patients off?

Do they see you as 'selling' them something?

Do you feel your colleagues (not derms/PS) look down on you?

If you are an OB/other..do you get less referrals from other docs who see you doing this? Do they relate the reason to you why if so?

Any other negatives I forgot to mention? (aside from staffing/machine/etc)

Dear Curious md: While you are waiting to hear any possible negative opinions on this subject, I suggest you try conducting a brief survey of your existing patients asking them which (if any) of a list of aesthetic services (i.e., hair reduction, photorejuv, cellulite, Botox, fillers, laser peel, etc.) they might be interested in. Find out if they have already received any of these services - if so, where, did they have a positive experience, etc. I think you will be pleasantly surprised by their responses. They would rather obtain these services from YOU - their doctor-- than some fly by night company from Michigan who gives them the "hard sell". And if YOU don't start providing these services they will simply go to someone who DOES provide aesthetic services.

I do not think patients see it as selling but as service. You must make sure the demand is there. If you average patient is 65 y.o then I would avoid it. If you have a large younger patient base then go ahead.

The plastics and derms really do not care about hair removal but if you advance past that they will likely not be very happy.

Do not plan on getting outside referrals. Nobody will care about your business plan as much as you. Your partners within the clinic may send you some but most of the work and advertising will need to be done by you. Start small. Lasers can be $3,000/month in overhead or more.

You can't just dabble in this you need to go at it full force to get good at it unless you are going to limit yourself to very minor procedures like hair and veins.

I recently purchased a device and did do a marketing survey of my patients prior to the purchase. I received a fairly robust response in terms of interest but have found when it comes time to actually pay for the service patients are not quite so robust. I started with photorejuv and hair removal. The services is catching on but very slowly and I am having to do some fairly active marketing, ie promo deals like 50% off etc.

That's what I'm finding too. There's alot of competition and it's been very very slow for my first 4 months i.e. hardly anything, even with my own patient base. Getting frustrated but still have high hopes.

I am having similar experience. I did marketing before the purchase and patients were quite excited. I purchased a laser and I am finding patients are slow to actually use the service. I had hopes this would help support my business and it is beginning to seem it may be a bit of a ball and chain. I enjoy doing the treatments and would like to see it work out. Any advice from anyone about what has worked would be appreciated.

You need to have literature showing all of what you can do. A lot of patients do not understand what you can accomplish. Put the brochures in your waiting room and in every exam room. Some even say to remove all magazines that are not associated with education about aesthetic procedures.

It sounds as if this is an addition to your regular practice. So if you see a patient with excess chin hair tell her you can remove it. Or if she has a benign skin lesion pigmentation etc tell her you can help. The more they hear it from you the more receptive they will be.

I am an FP and very few of my current patients are from my original practice. It also always helps to know who your competition is and what they offer. Add some inexpensive procedures such as botox if you are not doing it already.

I also use video loops of procedures in my waiting area. Do as much free advertising as you can.

IMO, the issues are:
1) financial - lasers require a significant investment, and you may not have the patients or cash flow to support that investment for a significant period of time. It took me a good year to really get rolling with our machine.
2) liability - make sure your malpractice coverage includes laser procedures. How are you going to deal with blisters, burns, etc.?
3) communication - make sure that you are accurate in what you promise to your patients in terms of down time, side effects, complications & efficacy.
4) training - make sure you * really * know the details of your machine, and how to adjust it for different skin types & clinical problems, not just the standard manufacturers recommendations. I'd recommend some preceptorship type arrangement, if possible.

Jarvik7, JC and DrC:

I know what you are saying and feel for you. However, it is important to "understand" your patients from THEIR perspectives. What you usually need to keep in mind are:
1) You need to conduct so called "educational seminars" in your office or somewhere else wherein you demo and do "free treatment promo"
2) All patients are mostly impressed by "instant graphic results". sad but true reality
3) Treat your staff and make them "upsell" your business. Your staff need to "look good" This IS an aesthetic practice. If necessary, separate it with a different entrance and staff. Remember too, this is a cash business. You are a bit less restricted by laws on how to market.
4) Don't offer mostlythings that the Jones and Janes already do around you (IPL, rosecea, veins, hair removal, botox). You then are just copycats. Look for a few that are: bigger margin, less treatment frequency with more dramatic outcomes, e.g. skin resurfacing, skin tightening, fillers. This translate into: Less headaches in scheduling, cancellation, rescheduling and less risk of pt's non-compliance. For ex: you tell them to get 5-10 rx's of IPL, hair removal, vascular, acne, at 4 week intervals. You usually end up with them completely messing things up THEN at the end of it, they complained of no visible results, thus demanding for money back.
5) Don't let sale reps control you. Don't believe in any clinical promises they gave you. Be careful of YOUR ethnic patient profile and its response to the technology.
6) Don't oversell your products: PERMARNENCE!!!!!, no more than certain treatment frequency promise. They WILL get you for this. I am not saying these are not possible to achieve but play it safe.