Polarization of plastic surgery
The fact that Korean plastic surgeons are seeking foreign patients means there are less Korean patients. I hear that mid-sized private practices are struggling as patients prefer large hospitals for major procedures. If this continues, only very large hospitals and very small practices will survive in the future. One may ask how a small private practice run by one doctor can compete with a large hospital with numerous doctors. However, if the doctor is famous for a particular treatment, he or she has a good chance. If a plastic surgeon achieves unrivaled expertise in certain procedures or techniques, etc. he can stay successful despite the massive advertising by large hospitals. And if large hospitals do not have efficient management system, they will face serious problems with controlling the doctors and the quality of treatment. Large hospitals also have an impersonal approach to patients as they need to generate enough income to sustain the high marketing and labor cost.
Most plastic surgeons operate on a daily basis as the days for consultation and operating are not separately scheduled. This means that a large hospital with many doctors need numerous operating rooms. This makes it difficult to completely separate consultation rooms from operating rooms and problems with hygiene could arise. Large plastic surgery hospitals will need to allocate their resources more wisely. For example, designating certain days of the week to consultation and others to surgery will help use the doctor’s time more effectively.
HELIOSⅡ/LOTUSⅡ/HYPERION – Manufacturer: LASEROPTEK(www.laseroptek.com)
Secrets to success
Regardless of the size of the practice, marketing has become an essential aspect of a plastic surgeon’s success. In my opinion, honest messages are more effective than eye-catching gimmicks. On- and off-line marketing combined with word of mouth brings the best effect. We use a naming marketing technique. In other words, we give names to special procedures performed only at our hospital such as ‘dual canthoplasty’ and ‘magic peach breast augmentation,’ etc. These names are trademarked and cannot be used by anyone else. These unique names almost serve as mascots that promote the hospital.
Marketing aside, it is true that the overall number of patients has declined in the recent years. This is why some plastic surgeons specialize in resurgery or insurance covered treatments. Plastic surgeons today are striving to find a niche in this highly competitive market. I once read an article on Joonang Daily about the secret of popular restaurants. The gist was that successful restaurants offer three advantages to customers; delicious food, pleasant ambience and friendly service. This applies to medical service as well. A successful plastic surgery practice would offer excellent medical skills, efficient management system, and friendliness of the staff.
Our goal is to build a hospital that offer all three benefits and expand our practice to overseas markets. As part of such efforts, we are scheduled to open a globalized website in January 2015. Currently, the foreign patients visiting Korea for plastic surgery go through agencies and doctors are left with a fragment of the profit. We created a multi-lingual website in the hope that patients would browse the website, gain information about our hospital and want to visit us. Currently, about 30% of our patient pool visit from overseas and we intend to increase this proportion.
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