Here we are, emerging from  the acute phase of the coronavirus pandemic, entering the unknown chronic phase. There is much we still don’t know about the virus, including why some become symptomatic but others remain asymptomatic. Even with these unknowns, the world must press on, doing our best to adjust our lives and maintain some sense of normalcy.

One facet of this new normal is avoiding handshakes. Washing hands frequently. Wearing masks around others. And shifting to a work-from-home (#WFH) routine when and where possible. While all of these changes are upending businesses for the better (DoorDash) or worse (Uber), there is one area where the opportunity has never been better. Working from home will lead to an environment wherein consumers will realize this is the best time to get cosmetic surgery.

Why this is the best time to get cosmetic surgery

In the past, there were various barriers to consumers getting cosmetic procedures. These include cost, fear of the unknown and the ability to get time off work. In our office, we do our best to address the issues related to cost. Not by bargaining with patients. But by being transparent about price before patients come in for a consult. Thus avoiding the awkwardness of sticker shock experienced by so many patients in so many doctor’s offices.

We address fear by pulling the curtain back on the world of cosmetic surgery. With seemingly nonstop education through social media, video and blog posts, virtually every question a patient could ask is answered.

Unfortunately, time off work is out of the hands of the doctor’s office. In the past, patients would coordinate time off months in advance or during holidays. With the onset of the work from home mindset, this obstacle is disappearing along with the patient’s commute! This is why it’s the best time to get cosmetic surgery. Patients can recover from home and still attend ZOOM meetings as necessary!

Additionally, it allows consumers to avoid discussing why they weren’t at the office, during their recovery. They can convalesce in the comfort and privacy of their home. Binging Netflix, ordering food delivery, answering work emails and never missing a day of work!

Positioning your practice for this unprecedented opportunity: Short term strategies

Taking full advantage of this opportunity requires a combination of short and long term strategies. Letting patients know what services you offer used to mean heavy digital advertising. But that’s too expensive and hard to separate yourself from the competition. So reduce your marketing expenses by going after your existing patients with email marketing.

By both growing your email marketing database with lead generation and using your current database of patients, you can get the word out with this short term strategy. Sure, you’ve told your patients about your services in the past. But now that they’re in the mindset to actually get something done. So remind them of what you offer. No easier way to do that, with very little out-of-pocket cost, than email marketing.

Positioning your practice for this unprecedented opportunity: Long term strategies

In contrast, an important long term strategy includes vertical integration. In other words, ensuring all of the services you’re capable of offering, are provided in your office itself. For example, surgeons in the aesthetic space often rely on hospitals and surgery centers to provide their surgical services. This is inadequate from a self preservation standpoint going forward.

Consider the current state of affairs for cosmetic surgeons relying on hospitals and surgery centers to clear their backlog of postponed patients. These facilities lost a lot of money during the pandemic and they’re looking to recoup those losses. The facility fees paid by cosmetic patients pale in comparison to the facility fees paid by insurance companies for medically necessary elective procedures. Therefore, these facilities will de-prioritize cosmetic cases.

That’s why it’s necessary to have your own office-based operating room in the future. This was seen as an additional expense, maybe even a luxury, in the past. No longer.

Once the ban on elective cases was lifted in San Francisco, I was able to get right back to work. I cleared my backlog of cases and started scheduling new patients. But this was only because I had my own operating room and could control our schedule.

Benefits of vertical integration

Think of the alternative. It was awkward enough telling our previously scheduled patients we couldn’t operate on them during the pandemic. But imagine if after the ban was lifted, we said we couldn’t perform their procedure for another month or two because we were at the back of the line at the hospital or surgery center, behind the orthopedic surgeons and general surgeons? In this situation, patients may consider asking for a refund and go elsewhere to get their case scheduled sooner.

Aside from the ease of scheduling in your own office-based operating room, there is less traffic in the office compared to a hospital. Not to suggest hospitals aren’t safe. But if a patient is concerned about getting coronavirus during the next surge, then it behooves them, and all of us to be around fewer people. In that sense, an office-based OR with fewer employees will allay those concerns.

Combining these short and long term strategies will position your practice for consumers who realize this is the best time to get cosmetic surgery.

Dr. Jonathan Kaplan is a board-certified plastic surgeon based in San Francisco, CA and founder/CEO of BuildMyBod Health, a price transparency-lead generation platform. You can watch him operate and educate @realdrbae on Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok.

Click here for the original blog post written by Dr. Kaplan for BuildMyBod.

The post For better or worse, this is the best time to get cosmetic surgery first appeared on Plastic Surgeon San Francisco | Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery.

When we consider black swan events, which I’ve discussed here before, they’re often looked at in a negative connotation. And rightly so. But in an effort to find a silver lining to this pandemic, we should consider the pandemic as a black swan event, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a dramatic improvement in society. There are many changes that will occur post acute phase pandemic. As we enter this new chronic pandemic phase, things will change. Ironically, many changes will result in better customer service in the healthcare setting. One example? No more waiting in doctor’s offices!

No more waiting in doctor’s offices

If you’ve received an email from your doctor as they start to see patients in person again, you’ll notice a common thread. They all detail the changes you should expect when coming into the office. This is part of phase 2 in many states. Our office is no different.

Based on the San Francisco Mayor’s recent announcements and clearance by the Department of Public Health, hospitalizations due to the coronavirus are flat which means we can resume non-essential services as part of Phase 2 on Monday, May 18th.

Just as so many other physician office’s prepare for this next phase, we are implementing several safeguards as well. Our office building already requires that everyone entering the building wear a mask. But standalone offices are requiring the same of anyone entering their office.

Many offices will begin spacing appointments further apart so patients can be brought directly to the exam room after entering the office and having your temperature checked. That means no more waiting in our waiting room! This is a huge paradigm shift for patient care and customer service. Something that has been a long time coming.

Doctors and staff will also wear masks during consultations and treatments. To ensure patients don’t come into the office sick, staff will confirm they are not experiencing any symptoms associated with COVID-19 such as fever, cough, loss of taste (ageusia) or loss of smell (anosmia) before they leave home.

Elective surgery

For facilities that offer surgery, this will also be a new experience. Elective procedures that were originally postponed will be allowed to reschedule. That means rescheduling hip and knee replacements. Or cataract surgery. But for hospitals and surgery centers that have lost a great deal of revenue during the pandemic because they had to cancel elective procedures, they will probably not allow cosmetic procedures for the time being.

Why the difference? For patients undergoing cosmetic procedures, they must pay out of pocket. For the surgeon’s fee and also for the facility and anesthesia fee. When comparing cosmetic vs medically necessary, insurance-based procedures, hospitals get paid a small facility fee from cosmetic patients. So if the name of the game is prioritization of procedures as facilities ramp back up, they will preferentially go with better paying procedures, of which cosmetics is not.

Benefits of an office-based operating room

To be clear, this is not because cosmetic procedures are not allowed. On the contrary, new health orders are allowing any type of elective procedure, including, and without limitation, cosmetic and dental procedures. But there is a caveat. Facilities that resume elective procedures must have a protocol in place that ensures the safety of the surgical patients. And since it appears most hospitals and surgery centers will not prioritize cosmetic procedures, patients may find it’s easiest to schedule their cosmetic procedure in an office-based operating room like ours.

Here are several surgery specific protocols that facilities, including ours, will put in place to avoid the possibility of operating on a COVID+ patient. We are requiring all surgery patients to obtain a COVID test at one of the free testing centers in the Bay Area prior to their surgery date. As a follow up, we will also perform a rapid COVID-19 antibody blood test the morning of surgery. This is to rule in (or rule out) exposure. But also, this test will confirm they possess antibodies that confer immunity to the virus.

Flattening the curve

Based on recommendations by the country’s foremost experts, a complete return to normalcy via a vaccine or herd immunity, may take at least 18 months. Sadly, waiting to reopen society once there is absolutely no risk of contracting the coronavirus is not realistic or plausible. That is why we as a society must restart, with safeguards in place. Throughout this entire crisis, the overarching goal was to flatten the curve (and thus far, at least as San Franciscans, we have done that), not eliminate the curve.

In other words, the goal is to minimize the number of people that get COVID-19 at any one time so as not to overwhelm the healthcare system. To that end, the shelter-in-place and quarantine are relaxing in a way to allow life to move forward. And at the same time continue with various forms of surveillance and social distancing to minimize the risk of spread.

The irony is these changes will actually provide much better customer service than many expect from the healthcare system. From more convenient virtual consults to no more waiting in doctor’s offices. We can use this opportunity as a black swan event of improvement, not failure.

Click here for the original blog post written by Dr. Kaplan for BuildMyBod.

The post No more waiting in doctor’s offices! first appeared on Plastic Surgeon San Francisco | Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery.

COVID-19 rapid antibody testing

The tests everyone originally talked about getting were those that tested for the presence or absence of the virus that causes COVID-19. It was helpful at the beginning of this pandemic if you were symptomatic and your doctor needed to confirm your diagnosis for the most appropriate treatment. Or confirming your diagnosis might get you into a trial for an an experimental treatment.

But now that we may be moving back out into the community, we need a bit more information. Antibody testing provides more data than the typical PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests that check for the presence of the coronavirus’ genetic material. As the video below explains, antibody testing can check for non-exposure, recent or current exposure and immunity.

Depending on the presence or absence of immunoglobulin M or immunoglobulin G in your blood, you can learn a lot about a person! Rather than repeating it all here, check out the video below to learn about the following four topics. First, are rapid antibody tests approved by the FDA or not? Second, how does antibody testing work? Third, how do the tests actually work? And fourth, how can antibody tests be used when reopening clinics and treating patients?

Video explaining COVID-19 rapid antibody testing

Click here for the original blog post written by Dr. Kaplan for BuildMyBod.

The post COVID-19 rapid antibody testing and you first appeared on Plastic Surgeon San Francisco | Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery.