| > | | | | consumers, or any combination thereof could register |
| | | | and have full access to the site, whether they lived in |
| There’s help on the way for doctors in the | | | | Portland, Maine, or Prague. |
| form of new web sites have been launched with the | | | | In addition to the normal laundry list of treatment |
| purpose of providing physician-to-physician mentoring in | | | | information, physicians can find articles and postings on |
| specific medical fields. | | | | topics from interviewing staff, financing and growth, |
| Medical spas have exploded over the last few years, | | | | common mistakes, to which IPL to choose and what |
| fueled by technology companies eager to keep their | | | | kinds of marketing works. There’s also ongoing |
| head above water in increasingly competitive | | | | conversations about insider information like black |
| environment, and the burgeoning work load of | | | | market Thermage tips and PDT delivery modalities. |
| physicians who see medical spas as an easy sell to | | | | (Very useful if you need to know what that stuff is.) |
| their existing patient base. Adding a lucrative medical | | | | Most of this information is not available anywhere else |
| spa to their existing practice seems like a no-brainer | | | | with the level of detail that MSO can provide. |
| for doctors from plastic surgeons and dermatologists, | | | | We took cues from what our own needs and |
| to dentists and family practice doctors. | | | | experiences have been, says Barson. We |
| Unfortunately, many of these doctors have been sold | | | | decided that we would provide freely available, |
| on an illusion. Laser and IPL companies routinely | | | | practical, clinical and business info about non-surgical |
| downplay the level of competition and level of | | | | cosmetic and anti-aging medicine to physicians and |
| business acumen needed to compete in this field and | | | | patients and leave general content to other sites. |
| already overworked physicians end up with another | | | | We’re dedicated to making a resource for |
| headache and a pile of invoices. | | | | physicians and patients who wanted the most current |
| But some help might be on the way for theses | | | | information on the revolution taking place in non-surgical |
| doctors in the form of web sites that offer information | | | | cosmetic and anti-aging medicine. Telomere clipping, |
| and mentoring from other physicians and business | | | | Pointe Lift, personal DNA testing, IPL, RF and lasers, |
| savvy medical spa owners. | | | | Liposolve Mesotherapy, Bio-Identical Hormone |
| The frontrunner of these sites is Medical Spas Online ( | | | | Balancing... there's a lot. |
| a blog site for physicians interested or involved in | | | | Medical Spas Online also wanted to take advantage |
| non-surgical cosmetic and anti-aging medicine. Started | | | | of the web's ability to connect. Physicians rarely have |
| by Jeff Barson, Managing Partner of Surface Medical | | | | the chance to converse or learn form other doctors |
| Spas and the Editor in Chief, Medical Spas Online | | | | who are not their immediate area of competition by |
| embraced a concept radically different from other | | | | posting questions and answers on topics specific to |
| publishers who see the Web simply as a way to put | | | | this field. Physicians can mentor and learn from other |
| up their business site. | | | | physicians in a way that eliminates the business |
| In contrast, Medical Spas Online, from the start, was | | | | competition threats. And patients can interact with |
| designed to be a micro-site that had a single focus: a | | | | physicians in a safe environment that removes the |
| place where visitors could quickly find useful content | | | | pressure that patients usually feel when interacting with |
| that focuses exclusively on non-surgical cosmetic and | | | | doctors. |
| anti-aging medicine and the business platforms used to | | | | Their open-door strategy is in contrast to other sites |
| deliver these services. The content is provided from | | | | who exclusively solicit consumers or physicians as a |
| physicians and businesses already in the market who | | | | sales tool or are supported by advertisers who can |
| know what they’re doing and what’s | | | | exert influence. |
| important and relevant to their field. | | | | Medical Spas Online welcomes everyone interested in |
| Medical Spas Online's primary target audience was | | | | professional-level medical information for both |
| and is American clinicians in the non-surgical/cosmetic | | | | commercial and philosophic reasons. |
| anti-aging arena: a decision made prior to launch. | | | | We liked the idea that consumers and non-MDs |
| Medical Spas Online understood the information needs | | | | could finally get the same information their doctors |
| of these healthcare professionals from their own | | | | read, says Barson. |
| experience. But significantly -- and controversially | | | | As it turned out, and in contrast to the conventional |
| — Medical Spas Online was also designed to be | | | | wisdom, many doctors liked that, too. |
| open to anyone who wanted information. Physicians, | | | | |