Post-operation services
January 27, 2010 in Health & Medicine
I have currently had a look at the post-operation services available in today’s world. I am mainly speaking about minor cosmetic surgery operation. There is some well known company (mostly luxury clinics) that offer these services but there is a real gap that appear as these procedures become more and more popular. Doctors are very bad at managing this and often try to send their patient as quickly as possible back home with a box of medicine.
Offering could service for those patients would be very lucrative and easily marketable (Doctors not very good at that either). By building strong partnerships with practices or even renting out some of your space for a doctor to establish his practice is the key.
I think the US and most of europe is not where you have to look. Cosmetic surgery travel is growing strongly ( romania, morocco, egypt), people are very keen on paying up to 3x times less. But few of those practices are well management, marketing is really bad and post-op care even worst.
Patients would be delighted to be taken care of by a specialized Hotel Spa & wellness for only 10%-20%. By providing tailored services for those procedures and professional health expertise in a relaxing atmosphere would be very appealing to a big part of the market segment.
Loads of issues have to be taken care of as soon as you touch to the health market but none of them are unresolvable.
Joan said on January 27, 2010
Yeah this is cool. I don’t understand how you’ll get discounted rates on the hotel price, but selling packages is definitely a good idea. When they feel weak, people love being taken care of.
Julian said on February 1, 2010
Clinique La Prarie in Clarens, near Montreux, is very famous for this. Stars across the world secretly sneak into this luxurious clinic for 2-3 weeks periods. They arrive, get an operarion, are then pampered and taken care of and re-appear in the spotlight as if nothing had ever happened.
This is a service which, until now, has been reserved for only the most wealthy people in the world. A lot of potential here!
Jonas Romain Wiesel said on February 1, 2010
I was thinking about la prairie aswell!
To answer to joan. the Hotel would not have discounted rates they are more likely to be higher than the national average but the discount would be on the operation itself as it is 3x cheaper (you are not it charge of the surgery of the surgery) . If you add you good post app service client wont mind to get the whole package for 2 times cheaper than in his country as he would even benefit from better service.
Henry said on February 8, 2010
According to me, when it comes to your face or some part of your body you really care about, you should not try to find the lowest price but the best service, or not do it at all. But cosmetic surgery travel + hotel spa doesn’t sound like a very good idea to me.
1. In general, the result at the end of a cosmetic operation is different than the result 6 months later. The result changes over time, it is called the reshaping. The area that has been operated slowly changes and it is important that a surgeon monitors it so that he can intervene if unexepcted changes occur. That’s the essence of their profession: the service is comprised of an operation + a post-operation follow up. If you go to Egypt (or somewhere else) to be operated, either you should spend 6 months there on holiday or you find a doctor back home who accepts to follow you up. But in both cases you’ll end up paying more than with a simple package, OR you take risks you don’t want to take.
2. The other argument against cheaper platsic operations in lesser developed countries (which are of a poorer qulity) is that there can always be haemorrhages or infections, and if you need a second intervention in your home country, this one won’t be reimbursed. You took the risk to get a poorer quality surgery. In this case, you’ll end up paying twice as much.
3. After all plastic surgeries, except for injections, it is contra-indicated to expose your skin to things such as humidity, heat, sun, etc… Or to bathe (go swimming). Therefore, spending two weeks in a spa right after this kind of operation is a very bad idea , since these things are pretty much all you find in a spa.
To conclude, the spa is contra-indicated, surgery in lesser developed countries is of a poorer quality and you’d better have the same doctor from the beginning to the end of your treatment. If a patient doesn’t respect these rules, he might loose a lot of money. I’m not buying, sorry.
Jonas Romain Wiesel said on February 9, 2010
well I’ll give you some figures and you’ll buy it give me one second!! I’m actually doing a project on this
Jonas Romain Wiesel said on February 9, 2010
http://www.understanding-medicaltourism.com/medical-tourism-statistics.php there is a good link to quickly sum up why I’m so sure it has a future.
Some of the issues you are talking about are true but you can easily eliminate with adapted project. I agree it isn’t ideal to get medical services abroad but there is a huge and ever growing demand why ignore it?
I’ll try and give you some more details as really think this debate is interesting.
Joan said on February 9, 2010
That link is a bit less dubious http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5814.html
polo said on March 24, 2010
The idea of distinguishing medical procedures (diagnostic like checkups and therpeutical) from hospitality is excellent… Indeed I think this is the point. I always wondered why a person should stay in a clinic for medical reasons. The point is that it costs too much and is not efficiet. A new model should appear not only based on luxury options but on all procedures. THis might be an important clue in US where they just made a big jump forward.
YOu young gusy from EHL, HEC and others should think about a model for a clinic offers the procedures, close to an hotel or where the two “models” are clearly separated in the same building. The reimbursment form indurances and the personnal fees to the patients should be adresses. BONNE CHANCE
Jonas Romain Wiesel said on March 25, 2010
Yes I really think the is in seperating key processes and making them individually more efficient and reducing their costs. But the First step I thinks the diagnosis and the checkups if their are efficiently undertaken it will reduce considerably the Length of stay at the hospitals—> therefore considerably reducing costs.
People are not dumb! especially when they are sick they really want to get better I think the patient itself can become more active through the processes! More precisely in the check-up process. For exemple giving the patients tasks and forcing them to regularly their state and feelings online where they can closely be monitored from anywhere, teach them about warning signs precisely making them not go to the hospital for nothing!