In the past several months, we invited a cross section of Los Angeles ladies who spent some time with us in a focus group.
As I indicated in my best-selling book, SECRETS OF A BEVERLY HILLS COSMETIC SURGEON, we cosmetic surgeons need to understand the patients’ desires and need to study what they feel is important for their care and satisfaction.
We even asked about negative experiences that patiients have had with cosmetic surgery and also what are the informational sources that people rely on to get meaningful information as they begin their research to study cosmetic surgery.
Here is a synopsis of our findings:
- Most people who had previous cosmetic surgery had a good experience. Those who did not have a good experience frequently cited the poor attitude and nonchalance of the office staff rather than dissatisfaction with the sugical procedure. I find that very interesting that one’s impressions and, therefore, referral potential can be based more on issues of personal service by practice personnel rather than the technical quality of the result.
- We were interested in specific sources that people avail themselves of to learn about cosmetic procedures. One of the strongest sources for many of the respondents was that they would value a personal referral. They also place great importance on seeing the doctor’s before and after photo collection. For those who are internet savvy, they relied on web sites for information but recognized that many of the sites regurgitate the same stale messages.
- We asked the importance of communication in understanding what the patient could expect. For that reason, computer imaging got very high scores. Most of the ladies were familiar with computer imaging although a relatively small proportion had it offered to them by surgeons they had consulted with.
- Anesthesia issues came up. Patients seem to have an inappropriate and uninformed fear of general anesthesia. When we explained that many of the procedures are, in fact, done under heavy sedation with local anesthesia and yet are misinterpreted as general anesthesia by the patients, they were quite surprised. This is a tribute to the quality of business, a tribute to the talents of our anesthesiologist such that in fact they were able to avoid some of the down sides of general anesthesia and yet give the patient complete freedom from knowledge and discomfort during the procedure.
- One service that few offices offer and yet that I have always felt was a very important component of a good consultation is for prospective patients to speak with or meet, in person, the patients in our practice who have had a procedure identical to that which we propose for the prospective patient. Those patients who have had previous procedures and had the opportunity to have such conversations and meetings were very rare but were highly valued.
In summary, we understand that the most beneficial consultation to a patient will be when the most services are offered to the patient as part of the consultation. This includes a consumer-oriented book that the doctor may have written, pamphlets and other handouts. Also highly ranked was computer imaging, the before and after photo collection and an opportunity to speak with previous patients.