by
Gus Iversen, Editor in Chief | January 08, 2015
From the January 2015 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
“Why is a pathologist better at laser hair removal than, say, an electrologist with good clinical training on the device they’re using?” asks Kokjohn.
From the manufacturer’s perspective, Fotona’s Bateman has not felt any impact on his business from this kind of legislation. His opinion on stricter regulations hinges on what procedures are being done, as well as the entities implementing and enforcing those regulations.
Hemphill’s practice, Serenity Skin & Laser, is located in Georgia where you don’t need to be a doctor, but she thinks there are advantages to being associated with one. “I’ve been very fortunate to have doctors behind me all the way through this,” she says.
Her practice has three offices and seven different doctors who rotate through them. It’s a small operation that works within the Falany & Hulse Women’s Center. Although none of the doctors actually use the lasers, Hemphill believes their presence — tending to patients and providing medical expertise — gives the business a more credible feel for people looking for service.
In Georgia, nurses have to renew their laser license every two years at the cost of $200. “In all honesty,” says Hemphill, “a lot of it has to do with money.” She jokes that although it may help prevent people from performing laser treatments at the local gas station, the costs associated with license renewal may not be justifiable.
A smoother future
As time goes on, Cella thinks it’s inevitable that a more fluid relationship will develop between the manufacturers and the third-party providers, but at present there are not enough advantages for both parties to actively work together. “I’ve had conversations with some CEOs where we attempted to talk about distribution and sales, but nothing has come through,” says Cella.
As mergers and acquisitions continue to reshape the manufacturing landscape, Parrott, with MedResults Network, believes new benefits will appear for patients. “Loyalty programs will decrease pricing for patients,” she says. ”They will get the treatments they need for less in the future, and products and services will become more accessible to them.”
“In the old days when people had CO2 laser facial resurfacing done, they had three or four weeks where they had to hide because they looked like they’d been in the blast furnace,” says Bateman, “With today’s advanced technology and clinical protocols you can do similar treatments and people often don’t even know that you had it done. I believe it’s just going to continue in that trend of less invasive procedures and shorter recuperation times.”
