California Bill could Put non-Physician Owned MedSpas out of Business
April 16, 2008
URGENT UPDATE (4-16-08) AB 2398 COSMETIC REGULATION
(Submitted by Norman C. Davis, Esq.)
The Business & Professions Committee of the State Assembly held a bill hearing on April 9, 2008 at which time the proposed AB 2398 (Amended April 1, 2008) was presented to the Committee. Unfortunately, following a brief discussion and only a few minor changes made, the bill was approved by the Committee.
An amended draft of the bill was drafted on 4-10-08 and was approved by the Assembly Judiciary Committee on April 15th. The bill will now go to the full Assembly where it must be approved prior to May 31, 2008 in order to be sent to the Senate or it will die. Refer to the current attached draft.
This legislation is sponsored by the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, and if passed will have a monumental impact on physicians, nurses, NPs , PAs and management companies involved in the aesthetic field. Physicians who are involved in aesthetic practices on a part-time basis must be on-site, providing direct supervision of delegated procedures, and must personally provide good faith exams on all patients prior to delegation. RNs will not be allowed to perform any procedures without the physician on-site unless the treatment is performed in a physician owned office with certain restrictions. Read more
Adding cosmetic procedures lifts internists sagging incomes
April 8, 2008
A few years ago, Bill J. Johnson, ACP Member, was spending most of his day treating patients for hypertension, diabetes and other chronic ailments. But while he enjoyed his work, his income had stagnated amid tightening insurance reimbursements. That’s when he began to think about adding aesthetic procedures to his menu of services.
Dr. Johnson took the leap in 2005, starting by offering botulinum toxin injections and then dermal filler injections at his office in Grapevine,
Key Legal Issues for Medical Spas and Aesthetic Medical Practices
March 19, 2008
Key Legal Issues for Medical Spas and Aesthetic Medical Practices
Aesthetic medicine requires careful attention to the intersection of corporate practice of medicine, licensing, anti-kickback and fee-splitting considerations, and other legal and regulatory issues. This overview will help you better understand the legal implications of opening a medical spa.
Understanding Staff Needs
March 11, 2008
The staff you employ can make or break your practice – period. When aesthetic patients are using their own money for elective procedures, their experience with you (and your staff) needs to be a good one – every single time. Because if it’s not, they will go where they are treated better and they’ll take their friends with them.
Frankly, your staff’s patient relations skills are just as important as your aesthetic skills when it comes to growing your aesthetic practice. Read more
United States: Botox® At the Mall? A Look At Medical Spas Under California Law
March 1, 2008
Medical Spas seem to be popping up all over these days. More and more Southern Californians, both men and women, view a Botox ® injection or laser hair reduction as a cosmetic treatment rather than as a medical procedure. Likewise, people are willing to obtain these services in the same settings they use for pedicures—in day spas or even in mall stores. Frequently, the operators of these medical spas are no more aware of the legal requirements that apply to their businesses than are their customers, as both the providers and consumers of the services see these services as esthetic in nature. But because California law defines many of the services that medical spas provide as the practice of medicine, there are numerous traps for the unwary spa operator. Read more
How to Win Back Patients you’ve Lost
February 14, 2008
You may be sitting on a gold mine and don’t even know it. I guarantee you have long-long patients in your practice who would return to you if given a chance.
If you have been in practice for even a short time, you have developed an eclectic database of various types of patients who:
- currently visit you
- who used to visit you but now don’t
- who are angry at you and you don’t even know it
- who talk badly about you
- who would come back if you only apologized
Your database is filled with patients who took the time to call your office, set up an appointment and visit you. For whatever reason, they didn’t book a consultation, didn’t return to finish their appointments or have left your office never to return again.
Aesthetic patients are fickle consumers. Rather than a goldmine, it can be more like a mine field to understand these patients and why they chose you over all the others. Read more
Top 3 Reasons MedSpa’s Fail
January 10, 2008
MedSpa’s don’t fail because of lack of commitment, passion or enthusiasm of its owners. They fail because of money! More specifically lack of cash.
Top 3 reasons:
- Start-up costs too high.
- Monthly expenses too high.
- Failing to convert consultations into sales.
If you are considering opening a Medical Spa, the first thing you need to do is ensure you have the business skills to do it! If you don’t have the skills, hire a Business or Practice manager who does.
Many people focus on clinical skills and underestimate the need for business skills. You may be the best injector in the world, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to have a profitable MedSpa or aesthetic practice.
Jeff Russell
Lease versus Buy Your Medical Equipment
October 17, 2007
When it comes to financing medical spa equipment, which route should you take?
If you’re considering expanding your practice with a medical spa, you have a lot to think about. You need to hire the right staff, market the facility and choose the right equipment.
When it comes to equipment, patients want the latest and greatest technology to turn back the hands of time. This will require a heavy financial investment on your end.
Should you buy or lease? This question isn’t easily answered, unless you take a hard look at both options. This article discusses the factors you need to consider before deciding whether to lease or buy. These are the economic value of the equipment, the availability of capital, the flexibility of payment terms and the potential tax benefits. Read more
Physicians Find Aesthetic Medicine a Cure to Cash Crunch
October 15, 2007
Family doctors are adding aesthetic medical procedures to their practices in an effort to make their practices more financially viable, says the International Association for Physicians in Aesthetic Medicine (IAPAM). After reviewing participant feedback from their fifth consecutive, sold out Aesthetic Medicine Symposium, IAPAM Executive Director, Jeff Russell, says that participating doctors want most to learn the business of aesthetic medicine, not just how to do the procedures themselves.
“The combination of reducing reimbursements, increasing costs, and longer working hours is leaving many family physicians no choice but to leave their traditional practice behind and open an aesthetic medicine practice or add aesthetic medicine procedures to their existing practices,” says Russell. Read more
Top 3 MedSpa Money Myths
October 1, 2007
The baby boomer generation—some 76 million strong—represents the largest single sustained growth of the population in U.S. history, according to AARP. Every 7.5 seconds, the organization reports, someone turns 50. And every day, more than 11,500 Americans hit the big Five O.
As physicians in age management medicine, you have a unique opportunity to help this generation age the way it wants to–with health and wellness. To do so, many of you may consider expanding your existing practice into a medical spa. But it’s not an easy venture. Pitfalls exist—one of which is financing–and you must be properly prepared.
The following top 3 myths are common misconceptions physicians have about financing med spas. Read more
IAPAM Aesthetic Medicine Resources
