Medical Fusion Conference: Guest Speaker Medical Justice

Dr. Jeffrey Segal, founder of Medical Justice, will be speaking at the Medical Fusion conference in November.  He also happens to be a Medical Spa MD Select Partner to boot.

Turning A Negative Into A Positive, The Medical Justice Story

I am a board-certified neurosurgeon who was sued one time for what I perceived to be a frivolous reason. The single expert who testified against me had been expelled from our professional society for delivering frivolous testimony. This expert had never performed or even observed the specific technique in question.

At the time I was practicing in Indiana, a state that embraced substantive tort reform years earlier. Nonetheless, I was in the crosshairs.  After two years, the case was dismissed a few weeks before trial. But, I never felt as if I won anything. I just felt as if I lost less.  I learned I was in good company. Many have been sued. Few talk about it.

Beyond the age of 40, I quit my day job and started Medical Justice, a physician-based organization focused on keeping doctors from being sued for frivolous reasons. The organization now addresses an array of medico-legal threats and serves thousands of physicians nationwide.  The single goal is to make it easier for doctors to practice medicine.

Migrating from a comfortable living as a neurosurgeon to the calculated risk inherent in the entrepreneurial world was not easy.  Many lessons were learned.  My session at the Medical Fusion Conference, "Physicians and the Legal System, the Story of Medical Justice", will focus on the story and these lessons --the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Take in some more information from Dr. Segal at the Medical Fusion Conference, November 5th throught the 7th at the Wynn confernce center in Las Vegas.

Medical Spa MD: How to operate effectively 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 Do 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!

Your Homework

Write an email to one close friend or business partner (or to me, if you would like to engage in this project with me: wshuman@assaralaser.com), in which you answer the following questions.  Cut and paste the text below into your email, and fill in the blanks with no more than three sentences: 

I wanted to pick your brain for a moment. I’m working on a plan to really blast my medical spa practice off the ground, and I wanted you to use your intuition to judge the quality my sentences below.  What do you think? 

The best way to succeed in business while I make clients feel great is:

The recession has made it harder for my medical spa to operate because:

My medical spa’s winning competitive difference is:

Each of my laser center's potential clients is worth:

I will earn every cent paid to me from a client’s hard earned money by:

The biggest recurring (or systemic failure) affecting my customer service is:

Please let me know your thoughts.

Note: The above is a guest post from Will S. of Assara Laser Centers.  You can find Assara on the web at the following links: Assara Homepage and Assara Blog.

If you would like to write or guest post for Medical Spa MD please contact Medical Spa MD here.

Medical Assistant's can not inject Botox!

I've seen and head about medical estheticians, medical assistants and even front desk staff administering Botox injections.

It's not legal, as this story on the prosicution of a medical assistant clearly shows.

Betty Guerra’s monthslong nightmare is over.

The 45-year-old former medical assistant learned today from her attorney that the 10 felony counts against her on allegations of “unlawful practice of medicine” will be dismissed, she said.

“I always believed things would work out the right way,” she said tearfully. “I cannot be punished for something I didn’t do.”

Guerra’s July arrest sparked controversy over what medical assistants can and cannot do. Specifically, there was confusion over whether they are able to give shots.

Guerra was accused of unlawfully administering cosmetic injections, an act commonly performed by medical assistants throughout Nevada.

The state attorney general’s office did not specifically say charges against Guerra would be dropped but indicated it won’t be pursuing the case.

“The complaint against Betty Guerra submitted to the Attorney General’s Office by the Board of Medical Examiners has been contradicted by the subsequent actions by the Board,” Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto said in a statement. “Therefore, it is fair for us to conclude that it would be difficult to prosecute this case beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Guerra’s attorney, Jason Weiner, said this evening that the attorney general’s office had sent him a copy of an unfiled motion dismissing the case earlier in the day. He would not be able to provide the Review-Journal with a copy of that motion until Wednesday, he said.

After Guerra’s arrest, physicians became concerned about what duties their medical assistants could perform.

Former medical board director Louis Ling said that upon reading a 30-year-old law, he concluded that the assistants could not give shots. With flu season coming on, he then attempted to draft emergency regulations that would allow them to give flu shots, but not Botox or other cosmetic injections.

However, that effort was shot down when a judge recently ruled that the board, in considering the regulations, had violated the open meeting law.

The board later reversed its position, determining that state law allows medical assistants to administer everything from flu shots to Botox. Medical assistants could give shots as long as they are under the “direct supervision” of a physician. Most health officials and doctors take that to mean the physician is on premises.

Ling resigned on Friday.

Guerra, a mother of three who was a physician in her native Peru, said she has been under incredible stress since her arrest and lost her job because of the publicity surrounding her case.

“It was a nightmare. I could not even sleep or eat all this time, wondering what was going to happen.”

Still, she said she harbors no anger.

“Now, I start all over. But it’s just another experience in my life.”

Via Review Journal story.

MedSpa Reality TV... Unbelievable!

Hard to believe, but we should’ve seen it coming... a reality show about a medical spa has hit the airwaves. Last night, the Oxygen channel debuted a new reality series called “Addicted to Beauty”. It follows the daily antics of “Changes Plastic Surgery and Spa” in La Jolla, CA.

All I have to say is, after watching this ridiculous show you’ll never complain about your staff again! And, if this is what medical spas are like in La Jolla, am I ever glad I’m on the East Coast!

The show centers around Dianne in the midst of a divorce who joined forces with Dr. Gilbert Lee, plastic surgeon. Reminiscent of the Cat Woman, Dianne thinks her staff is her family, which explains the total lack of control, disrespect and dysfunctionality.

Her Spa Director, Shannyn, is equally as disfigured from excessive aesthetic procedures. I didn’t see much management of the staff or spa during the show, but hey, just watching her try to portray an executive with some management experience was entertainment enough.

Gary and Ronnie’s responsibilities have yet to be determined. Between crying fits and backstabbing I never quite got the gist of what their job descriptions actually were. Only Natasha, Dianne’s assistant, actually did some work as she is aspiring one day to own her own medical spa. I actually never did see any "medical spa" procedures or staff members other than Dr. Lee's nurse.

Poor Dr. Lee. He seems like such a talented plastic surgeon with a wonderful personality to boot, to be hooked up with such drama and incompetence with the circus staff of the medical spa.

Showing the worst possible side of a medical spa, I’m not sure if a show like this will help or hurt the our industry, but I can honestly say, it definitely was entertaining!

Author: Paula D. Young RN runs internal operations and training at Young Medical Spa and is the author of the Medical Spa Aesthetics Course, Study Guide, and Advanced IPL & Laser Training course for medical estheticians and laser technicians.

Submit a guest post and be heard.

Med Spa & Laser Clinic News

Outlook gets ugly for plastic surgery firm
guardian.co.uk -

Detecting Skin Cancer
CBS News

More than 5000 Dermatologists gather in Dubai to Attend the Ninth Edition of Dubai Derma
Zawya

Plastic surgery for that competitive edge
Globe and Mail

Medical Spa MD Listed As Top Medical Social Networking Site

Medical Spa MD is at the top of the list of medical social networking sites in the lastest issue of cosmetic surgery times.

View the page here

It's nice to see that others are aware of the community here. It opens up a number of interesting opportunities.

We're currently in discussions with multiple compounding pharmacies, laser companies, technology providers, SEO and SEM service providers, and a few other categories sprinkled in.

In the relatively near future (ie when we select a provider and the technology in place) Medical Spa MD members will be able to order Botox or Restylane in bulk, get discounted services from selected provider that sell to med spas and cosmetic practices, and genearlly make bank.

If you're a service or technlogy provider that can provide benefits to Medical Spa MD Members, let us know.

If you haven't joined Medical Spa MD yet? Now's the time.

Med Spa & Laser Clinic Yellow Page Advertising

The Fools Gold of Yellow Pages Advertising.

A discussion about usage patterns and investing in the Yellow Pages directory. It’s something of an institution for many small business owners, and I know that many owners out there are terrified at the idea of not running the biggest possible ad they can afford. So far though, I’ve never spoken to a business owner who could substantiate their belief in the power of the Yellow Pages to generate business. The normal answer I’ve been given is ‘yes it works, no I don’t know how well’. Considering the pricing, I would hope it works damn well! It’s easy to drop $20K+ on a few inches of paper.

It amazes me just how many plastic surgeons and dermatologists advertise their presence in the Yellow Pages. (As well as med spas and laser clinics.) If you’ve got one of those big yellow stickers that say “Find me in Yellow Pages” stuck to your car, your door, your wall, or god forbid- included on a brochure or website! Stop what you’re doing right now, go outside, peel it off, and burn it*.

Telling your potential patients that your laser clinic or med spa can be found in the Yellow Pages is a terrible way to promote your practice. If you’ve made enough of an impression that they want to contact you again, you’ve already done the hard part. You’ve stood out from the crowd, you’ve had their attention. Don’t waste this valuable opportunity on a useless referral. Those four evil words “Find me in Yellow” serve the company that owns the directory, not you. Heres some things to think about:Yellow Pages is not strictly alphabetical, it’s a competitive listing. The ‘No.1’ position goes to the highest bidder, with the earliest application. Your prospective patient has to troll through pages of your competitors advertising to find you.

You’re encouraging people to comparison shop. Now that they’ve gone to the trouble of pulling out the phone book, it’s not that much more trouble to just do a quick ‘call around’ and find out who has the best price. You just lost your advantage. (You'll recognize the phone calls that come asking how much for a unit of Botox, laser hair removal, or Thermage.)

You risk that their attention will be drawn to someone else. You could pay a little more for bold typeface, and a border… but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re still buried amongst 15 pages of other plastic surgeons, laser clinics, dermatologists and med spas.

If you want to refer them somewhere, point them to your own website! At least there you won’t give your opposition the chance to steal your patient!

Note: I said your own site. Medical spa and plastic surgeon directories function just like the Yellow Pages, inviting comparison shopping and driving your prices down. And providing a competitve zone listing? Bullshit used to sell to docs who don't know better. There is no 'exclusion zone' on the web. Anyone looking for a laser clinic will damn well find all of your competitors anyway. (I'll be posting about this topic extensively since I get a lot of questions about how to do SEO and SEM for med spas.)

Are yellow page ads working for your laser clinic?

Simple answer: They weren't for me. I pulled the Yellow Page ads for all of our med spas. (Seven clinics in four states.) Over the last seven years, I have found that the money that is spent or should I say gouged on Yellow Page ads is better spent elsewhere.

Yellow Pages were at one time popular before the Internet and competition. In many markets, there are six Yellow Page competitors who are all publishing books. In order to run a full-page, full-color ad in all of them, I would be looking at about $20,000 a month, which I think is absolutely ridiculous.

Yellow Page salespeople will tell you that 50% or 40% or some other percentage of people who are looking for your type of business are going to be able to find you in the Yellow Pages.

That is true... kind of*.

What really happens is people hear about your med spa or dermatology office and then they will search for you in order to find out your telephone number. That's a vastly different value proposition from the way that Yellow Pages are really sold to you as which is direct advertising. The Internet has made it so easy to find any information. The Yellow Pages for the most part are now irrelevant.

Now, I've tried individual phone numbers and a number of other things in order to track our ROI, but what we find out when we actually talk to our patients (every patient that comes into one of our clinics is given a questionnaire in which case they fill out where they heard about us and also if they have heard about us before) the vast majority are just using Yellow Pages in order to look up our phone number. (I think probably 100% of people who fill out that they called us from the Yellow Pages also fill out that they have heard of us someplace before) Of those same patients only about 3% do not have Internet access. As more and more people switch to the Internet for their information needs, the Yellow Pages become less and less relevant, and the opportunity cost for that money becomes greater and greater.

I would be interested in hearing what your thoughts are on the Yellow Page ads that you run (or don't).

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Medical Spa MD Members get a Podium patient review marketing account and save $1,257

Protect your reputation. Get new patients. Medical Spa MD Members receive a special, full service Podium account that includes: no setup fee (save $300), a 10% discount forever (save $330/year) and on-demand patient review marketing training for your entire staff ($597 value).  This offer is not available anywhere else.

Medical Spa & Laser Clinic Coupon Shopping

Medical spas seem to be opening up everyday, or more physicians are adding cosmetic services to their practices and adding the phrase “medical spa or laser clinic” to their practice name. Whatever the cause of this increase in “competition” the fact is the more players there are, the more you have to step up your marketing campaign.

Potential clients have no idea who is “better” than whom, or who has the most experience, or talent. Point blank, their main concern when choosing a medical spa service provider is price. We have price shoppers calling everyday asking how much we charge per unit of Botox, or per syringe of a particular dermal filler. It amazes me that "A", Botox and fillers are so common and are injected in so many different types of practices that someone actually CAN price shop. And, "B", it amazes me that someone doesn’t even ask who is performing their injections and how much experience they have had. Since when is cosmetic medicine categorized like shopping for a handbag?

Here’s the conundrum we’re facing in our medical spa... laser lipolysis is our number one aesthetic service in our practice. So many physicians have added laser lipolysis to their practice in the hopes of generating revenue and, unfortunately, are having a difficult time getting business in the door that they’re offering ridiculous price breaks or coupons worth a very high dollar amount. What the unsuspecting client doesn’t know is how high they jack up their service price to allow for the coupon deduction. Plus the client knows nothing of the practice, who’s performing their procedure, etc.

We have recently had clients come in for complimentary consultations and asked us if we would honor our competitors coupons. My staff was taken a little off guard not expecting such a request.

My stance is that this is a medical practice, not a boutique, and there is certain room for negotiation in pricing, but honoring a ridiculous coupon just to get someone’s business isn’t worth the reputation we’re trying to maintain as medical professionals. Granted, some clients take their coupons away in a huff and say they’ll go elsewhere and only under my breath can I say you’ll get what you pay for!

I’m curious to know how other medical spas handle competitor’s coupons. Is there a limit to what you will accept, or particular services you’ll negotiate on? How far are you willing to go to acquire new clients?

Author: Paula D. Young RN runs internal operations and training at Young Medical Spa and is the author of the Advanced IPL & Laser Training course for medical estheticians and laser technicians.

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Medical Spa MD Members get a Podium patient review marketing account and save $1,257

Protect your reputation. Get new patients. Medical Spa MD Members receive a special, full service Podium account that includes: no setup fee (save $300), a 10% discount forever (save $330/year) and on-demand patient review marketing training for your entire staff ($597 value).  This offer is not available anywhere else.

IPL Burns

The Independent newspaper in the UK has an article today in their Health & Wellbeing section from a reporter who was badly burned by an IPL treatment at a 'Top London Med Spa'.

The photos show the reporter with large uneven red welts on her chest and areas of redness on her face also. According to the story the correspondent was seduced by the promise of a `fast and effective way of removing the visible ravages of time without surgery’.

This is the second high profile newspaper report in recent times (see also News anchor gets burned by photo facial). I wish this were even less common than it is, but I've seen a number of IPL & laser burns before. These are often the result of rogue operations (Mesotherapy Lipodisolve Horror Stories) poorly trained staff AND physicians who intimidate their staff.

If your a plastic surgeon or dermatologist running a skin clinic, med spa, or laser clinic and your staffs first reaction is not to tell you somethings going wrong or they're not sure about an IPL or laser setting, you're just setting yourself up to have problems.

These types of IPL and laser burns are almost invaraibly the result of a physician who has medical estheticians or laser technicians who are afraid of confronting them with a problem or question. The doctor's defense? They were told what to do... but problems always arise and doctors who don't want to be hassled are the ones putting both their patitent and their laser clinic at risk. It's just a numbers game. If you treat 1000 patients at least some of them will have problems. Your staff should never be repremanded or belittled for ANY question.

The technician told me she would use a strong setting to get better results. As she passed the handpiece across my face the feeling grew hotter and hotter. By the time the device reached my neck, I could barely imagine continuing with the burning sensation. When she started on my chest the pain was intolerable and I had to ask her to stop repeatedly before continuing with what felt like torture. I'd thought of "no pain, no gain" and I soldiered on.

I got dressed, with a burning hot chest and a face that looked as if I'd been pulled out of a forest fire.

I was scheduled to return in two weeks for the next IPL treatment, in a course of six that costs £1,200. I went to a make-up shop and was dusted with a mineral powder, suggested by the spa, to camouflage the redness of my face.

A woman at the same counter asked me what the hell I'd had done. When I proudly informed her I'd had an IPL photo facial – she looked at me with total horror. "I don't mean to worry you, but I've had a course and it never looked like that." I largely shrugged off her words of warning. Why would I question the skill of a technician at the high end of the market? It's not as if I'd taken a chance and visited a high-street beauty parlour.

When I got home and looked in the mirror at my chest for the first time since the treatment - only an hour later – I was horrified. Angry red rectangular burns covered my chest in a random grid. Little did I know when I'd set off that morning that I would return after my first exciting treatment scorched and traumatised. What made no sense to me was that the treatment had not been done uniformly which was more obvious on my chest where I looked like I'd been branded with a hot iron.

The next day, on the advice of a friend, I called a top dermatologist – Dr Nick Lowe – known as the god of dermatology. He is also the man the rich and famous depend on when they need to be fixed, without resorting to the knife.

Dr Lowe saw me as a medical emergency the following morning. He works at the Cranley Clinic, off Harley Street, London, has a private practice in Santa Monica, California, and is clinical professor of dermatology at the UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles. He has his own skin care range and is the author of many books, including, most recently, The Wrinkle Revolution.

He was horrified by what he saw and concerned that no doctor was present at the IPL treatment – but it didn't surprise him. Along with other doctors, he is lobbying to get these types of treatments regulated in the UK. He believes treatments including Botox, line fillers, laser and light should only be conducted by doctors or administered under a doctor's supervision.

"The UK is one of the few countries in Europe that does not have sound legislation. It is much more regulated in France, Spain and Italy where only trained doctors can administer these treatments. The UK has failed totally to protect the public in this arena," says Dr Lowe.

Medical Blog Power

Medical and doctor blogs have power. Just ask the med spa and laser clinic franchises that have suffered at the hands of the physicians who bought into them, and then related their experience on Medical Spa MD.

Here's a CNN story about blogs and the travel industry that dove tails with the growing number of plastic surgery, dermatology and skin clinic blogs that are integrated into existing sites.

In the near future, Medical Spa MD will be rolling out a laser clinc, medspa, and cosmetic practice blog network as well as detailed courses on SEO, gaining traffic, keyword analytics and general how to information. If you' don't already have a highly trafficed medical blog, that will be the time to start.

Laser Clinic & Med Spa Group Visits?

The Doctor will see you,alll, now: Group Appointments Give Patients More Time To Talk

Chang's office began offering such group visits only for patients with diabetes, and then for people with asthma. Instead of spending 10 or 15 minutes each with 10 patients — many of whom need to hear the same thing — she might spend 90 minutes with 18 patients. Each patient learns from others' questions and symptoms, and the doctor covers much more.

Group visits

Studies have found that patients attending group visits had fewer emergency room and specialist visits (and thus lower monthly costs), stayed healthier and were more satisfied with their care. Three models exist.Cooperative health care clinic, created by Dr. John Scott in Wheat Ridge, Colo., in 1991, is an alternative to individual doctor visits. The same group of patients usually sees the doctor together monthly. Specialty group visits, which Scott developed in 1995, are similar, but patients have the same diagnosis, such as pregnancy, diabetes, hypertension, arthritis or fibromyalgia.Drop-in group medical appointments, developed in 1996 by clinical psychologist Edward Noffsinger in San Jose, Calif., typically have different patients at each session.

I wonder if you could do this in a cosmetic setting. Has anyone tried something like this in your med spa or laser clinc?

Brazilian & Bikini Line Laser Hair Removal

Brazilian or bikini line laser hair removal can be classified in four types that has variable names depending on the med spa or laser clinic visited.

It has been claimed that Brazilian laser hair removal, the most renowned form, was named after a pair of Brazilian sisters who delivered the service  as a waxing treatment in New York.

• The American: bikini line laser hair removal is removal of hair at the top of the thighs and under the navel when wearing a bikini. It is also known as a basic bikini line.
• French bikini line: leaves a vertical strip in front (a landing strip), two to three finger-widths in length just above the vulva. It is also known as a partial Brazilian laser hair removal. Hair of the peri-anal area and labia may be removed. Removal of hair from these areas is also known as the 'Playboy' or 'G-waxing'.
• Brazilian refers to a removal of everything, front to back, while sometimes leaving a thin strip of hair on the pubis. An extreme form of bikini line laser hair removal, it involves complete removal of hair from the buttocks and adjacent to the anus, perineum and vulva (labia majora and mons pubis). Laser hari removal reatments that remove all of the pubic hair are known as a full Brazilian, full Bikini line, Hollywood wax or the Sphinx.

Further subgroups has been proposed by Anthropologist Desmond Morris, while referring to inconsistency in nomenclature:

• The Bikini Line: This is the least extreme form. All (most) pubic hair covered by the bikini is left in place. Only straggling hairs on either side are removed, so that none are visible when a bikini with high-cut sides is being worn.
• The Full Bikini: Only a small amount of hair is left, on the Mount of Venus (the mons pubis)
• The European: All pubic hair is removed 'except for a small patch on the mound'.
• The Triangle: All pubic hair is removed except for a sharply trimmed triangle.
• The Moustache: Everything is removed except for a wide, rectangular patch. This is sometimes called 'The Hitler's Moustache', sometimes 'Chaplin's Moustache'.
• The Heart: The main pubic tuft is shaped into a heart symbol.
• The Landing Strip: The central hair is trimmed into a narrow vertical strip and all other pubic hair is removed. This has become popular with models who must wear garments of an extreme narrowness in the crotch.
• The Playboy Strip: Everything is removed except for a long, narrow rectangle of hair.
• The Brazilian: This is the most famous of the bikini line laser hair removal styles but there is some confusion about its excact form. To some it is the same as the Landing Strip, leaving only a 'vertical stripe of hair'. To still others it signifies the complete removal of all pubic hair.
• The Sphynx: This is unambiguously the 'everything off' style, leaving a completely hairless pubic region. The name is derived from that of a naked breed of cat from Canada. Some laser clinics and med spas refer to 'the Sphynx' as 'the Hollywood'.

1800LaserHair.com: Another laser clinic directory wannabe spamming Med Spa MD.

Ok, I'm more than just a little tired of some of the bull shit that certain laser clinic and plastic surgery directories spamming the site and posting positive anonymous reviews of their services and laser hair removal listings.

So, there are about to be some very public spankings.

Medical Spa MD has attained some popularity, and some clout with physicians running laser clinics. I receive regular iquiries from docs looking for advice on cosmetic lasers and I personally know of a number of doctors who have printed out reviews from Med Spa MD and asked cosmetic laser sales reps about them. There are laser companies who are now Medspa MD members and (to my current understanding) are welcome members to the community.

However, there are some cheap laser clinc and plastic surgery directories that think that you're an idiot and post comments like those below. (There've also been some physicians offering their 'expertise' as trainers who have tried this to promote their training.) Don't. You've been warned.

1800laserhair.com: I don't know if 1800laserhair.com is posting these comments as part of their corporate policiy or if it's just a rogue individual salesman who's doing it for them. I also don't care. My guess is that they're some small little hack job outfit. It pisses me off personal that whoever this is thinks that this won't be found out.

Here's an example of laser clinc directory, 1800laserhair.com who posted this rave review to Med Spa MD under the name Dr. Don:

I have the two Candelas yag alexandrite and a light sheer diode. I use a service tech that is awesome and reasonable. I can't remember his name right off but I got his name from this great referral network I belong to. Call 1-800 Laser hair ask for Nancy or go to their website WWW.1800laserhair.com There may be a link but I think I got the guys name directly from Nancy. His name is Robert something... BTW anyone slow or having advertising or marketing issues, I am getting tons of referrals from the 1-800-laser hair network. You have to meet their criteria, they are very picky and exclusive but if they will accept you join!!! Two colleagues of mine were denied I am not sure why. The leads are great worth every dime. I resisted their advice at first, them I put my wife in charge of all of it, she followed their program to the letter now we are so overwhelmed with calls for laser (Not really what I want to be doing but I better not complain because laser hair removal is supporting my practice through this crappy economy. Nice plug for them...tell them Dr. Don sent you...I may get some referral bonus!! LOL

Back to Laser Hair removal service. I don't have a service contract. Don't get them. I regularly get laser check-ups. Robert (the service guy) calls my office when he is in my area. By getting him in when he is already in my area he gives me a break on service costs. I get the check-ups and do preventative laser maintenance. Also Nancy (the 1-800 laser hair removal lady) gave me a monthly weekly and daily check list that tells us how to properly maintain our lasers in between service visits. I have not had a significant laser repair cost in 7 years and I haven't had to replace a laser yet going on 10 years. After we got our staff to follow the checklist diligently we saw a significant drop in repair costs. My staff was going through thousands of dollars worth of parts yearly and I was watching our profits go to Candela, I too despise them. They have terrible service and they have been so shady. I think they would sell their grandmothers if they could make a buck!!! Their service contracts are totally over priced. bad plug!!

I really don't use the light sheer much but I keep it for a back up, just in case. Robert can usually fly in for emergency repairs next day. So I have never really needed it.

Posted As: DrDon

Posted Email: wtawtawdba@yahoo.com

Posted Link: www.1800laserhair.com

Comment Posted From This IP Address: user-24-96-114-40.knology.net (24.96.114.40)

I have to laugh at these claims of exclusivity. "You have to meet their criteria, they are very picky and exclusive but if they will accept you join!!!" Sure.

If I were Candela I'd be contacting my legal department about now. This is a perfect case of liable; posting damaging comments as fact under an assumed name. Candella can't be happy that these laser hair removal guys are bad-mouthing them and servicing their lasers at the same time.

Does anyone fall for these laser hair removal guys? I'd be interested in hearing what any identified physician using 1800laserhair.com thinks about their "tons of referrals from the 1-800-laser hair network."

If anyone has an email from 1800laserhair.com that they have archived in their inbox, I'd be interested in seeing it since the IP address is included. We could compare the two. I'd expect that they change their IP address shortly if they happen to match.

PS: This IP address has been banned.

Laser treatment? Skin clinic? Who's in charge here?

It’s happened in Florida and now in Massachusetts. State legislators and physicians are trying to establish some guidelines and laws to protect the public from sustaining injury by unlicensed or untrained service providers.

We’ve read the of the lipodissolve horrors where people are offering lipodissolve, laser treatments and botox in their garage for heaven’s sake! It’s hard to believe it has come to this, but cosmetic medicine has turned into a “cash cow” for anyone!

I’m getting so sick of the turf wars amongst doctors of which specialty should be doing what... I mean seriously... can’t you all get along? Instead of fluffing your feathers to establish dominance over cosmetic medicine you should ban together to eliminate the bottom feeders who are performing services in their garages to protect the practice that IS cosmetic medicine! These are the people who are ruining your reputations! The unskilled, the unlicensed, money grubbers (and yes, I am also including lawyers here!)!

Let us also not forget that nurses and aestheticians are fighting over positions as well. There’s no certifying board for aesthetic nurses, or medical aestheticians. Here’s a funny story... when I started our medical spa with my husband years ago, I contacted both the heads of the nursing board and the cosmetology board. Since I hold both licenses I asked if I was allowed to perform a facial. I was told it’s a gray area. The nursing board said I could, in fact, perform a facial under the direct orders of a physician if the facial were deemed medically necessary. What physician do you know who will write an order for a facial? What physician wants to manage facials, and waxing, and massage, and the products which are dispensed? The cosmetology board said I could not perform a facial because the practice isn’t licensed or inspected by the board.

Huh?

With the economy the way it is, it’s no wonder everyone is jumping on the “medical spa” bandwagon! I mean, it’s like an ATM machine with no fees and no penalties. The perspective boards are all looking at each other and wondering who’s responsibility it is to be monitoring them.

The time is now upon us where legislation will take precedence, once again, on how we perform medicine and who may perform it. The powers that be will decide for us exactly if IPL is a medical device, or not. If the removal of a sunspot or tattoo can be removed by a physician, PA or nurse. Who may do cosmetic procedures, what training they must have and what certifications must be obtained prior to plucking an eyebrow (I digress, but you get my point).

Although we agree that certain treatments be performed or directly supervised by a physician, the fact is, there are many other services that aren’t deemed medical in nature. Should a physician be controlling those as well?

No current board has jurisdiction over all professions within a medical spa or laser clinic so, most likely, a new board will emerge with regulations, standards and licensing fees to add to our current practice.

It will take a few years to establish a task force and develop legislation for most states. But when all is said and done, what will arise is higher fees for service for the client, more inspectors showing up on our doorstep, higher licensing fees and insurance rates, and less control, once again, on how we treat our patients.

Are you ready for another government agency to take control of YOUR profession?

Author: Paula D. Young RN runs internal operations and training at Young Medical Spa and is the author of the Medical Spa Aesthetics Course, Study Guide, and Advanced IPL & Laser Training course for medical estheticians and laser technicians.

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Med Spa Marketing with Google Alerts

Using Google Alerts to keep track of what is being said about you and your clinic or medspa on the net.

 
Want to know what people are saying about you and yours on the web? Use Google Alerts to set up notifications when bloggers write a post about the specific topic in question. This sends an automated email to your inbox every day or once a week as you choose.

If you're running a business then there are people mentioning you on the web in forums or blogs. Google alerts let you keep track of all this information in one place.

Alerts also have the benefit of allowing you to easily stay in touch with the latest posted information about Botox, Thermage, Sona Medspas, DermaDoc (wink) or whatever else you're interested in. I keep about 30 alerts and have them set to notify me weekly. (I find daily notifications unmanageable.)

The trick here is to specify very carefully exactly the information you're wanting to receive.  My alerts include keywords like: Jeff Barson, Medical Spas, Medspas, Medispas... You'll need to think slightly about possible wording if you're looking to get everything but Google will send you every reference that fits.

Laser Clinic? Med Spa? Listen and Sell.

Before you laser clinic or med spa staff is selling Thermage, Fraxel or Botox... they'll need to listen.

From the Church of the Customer Blog reports a new study that found customers who feel ‘listened to’ are more likely to buy, and far more likely to recommend you to a friend. Ok sure, hardly a revelation, but the strength of the response was considerable. From their site:

Communispace surveyed 2,196 members of their clients communities -- twenty communities representing fifteen companies. They found that:

• 82% of community members said they were more likely to recommend the company's products than before joining the community
• 54% said they were more inclined to purchase products from the company since joining the community