Joel Schlessinger M.D.

During times of economic distress, it’s important for a dermatologist to expand available services, and cosmetic procedures offer an excellent alternative revenue source to more traditional dermatological services.

In his article, “Cosmetic Dermatology: Ensuring Success at Any Level,” Joel Schlessinger advocates a team approach for building a solid, successful practice that includes cosmetic services.

The doctor recommends that, before you offer these services, you take a hard look at your pricing structure for them, in large part because “mall spas and ‘doc in box’ alternatives” are appealing to a percentage of your potential patients. To determine prices, take into account the socioeconomic picture in your locale. It’s also important to offer services in a range of prices; the plan would be to gradually encourage patients to investigate more involved procedures.

Other areas that the doctor discusses include:

• the importance of business know-how
• offering financing and discounts
• successful marketing
• staff management
• staff education
• strategic pay raises and bonuses

Joel Schlessinger MD also talks about bridging the gap between “medical” and “cosmetic” in your practice.

Be sure to read the article for his valuable insights. You can also find information about the importance of follow through in your practice in another article from Joel Schlessinger. It isn’t enough to simply set up your practice to include cosmetic procedures; there is plenty of follow through needed to become successful.

For another interesting perspective on follow through, Peter Bregman writes about motivation versus follow through for the Harvard Business Review. According to Bregman, “Motivation is in the mind; follow-through is in the practice. Motivation is conceptual; follow-through is practical. In fact, the solution to a motivation problem is the exact opposite of the solution to a follow through problem. The mind is essential to motivation. But with follow through, it’s the mind that gets in the way.”