High margin procedures
If you are worried about the low domestic demand, I recommend focusing on anti-aging procedures for the following reasons. First, lifting procedures have high margins and second, these treatments will continue to be popular. However, the market for fillers appears somewhat unstable. The government and media have damaged the market by warning the risk of filler products and excessive competition has driven down the price. I predict the prices to bottom out at about KRW 400,000 per cc for expensive fillers and KRW 200,000 for affordable ones. Even at these prices, it would be difficult to make profit.
Looking at other treatments, laser was once the mainstay of armamentarium of dermatologists but the laser market has matured in the past few years. This means that innovative technology is needed to expand the market. On the other hand, RF devices seem to have endless potential for improvement. Their value is underestimated compared to laser and there is room for improvement. Last year, PicoSure, Vanquish, miraDry, etc. with different concepts have been developed and passed the market test. New products are expected to be developed in the RF market. Devices that combine IPL and Nd:YAG Q-switched laser as well as multiple wavelength lasers, etc. also seem promising. A single device equipped with multiple lasers is easier to use as well.
Prices of medical devices including laser seem to be dropping. Korean manufacturers have introduced more affordable devices priced at KRW 40 million or less. This is good news to specialists opening a new practice as these devices have reliable performance. However, I recommend purchasing a couple of high-end devices along with a line-up of low priced ones to appeal to a larger number of patients.
Continued technological updates and introduction of new devices is encouraging for the doctors wishing to expand their treatment areas. Actively sharing information with device manufacturers will make it easier for doctors to venture into new treatment areas.
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Expanding one’s specialty
Venturing into new areas of expertise is important for generating profit. A dermatologist offering obesity treatments may be one example. In Korea, dermatologic treatments mainly focus on the face, however, anti-obesity procedures can also become a large market for dermatologists. Dermatologic treatments of obesity can include medication, injection and laser, etc. We use medication, injection and Liposonix and do not use cryo fat reduction methods such as Zeltiq or MICOOL. We thought these devices were not as efficient. The field of fat reduction offers a wide variety of choices and devices for each specialist.
Currently, Korea’s medical aesthetic market is saturated. The problem is that there are too many practices specializing in aesthetic procedures. This is due to the distorted health insurance system that forces doctors of varying specialties to enter the aesthetic market. To thrive in such heated competition, it is crucial to cleverly position one’s practice and develop unique expertise.
