Vagaro chief executive officer Fred Helou talks us through how tech is streamlining the patient experience
Aesthetic Medicine (AM): What role does technology play in creating a seamless and personalised patient journey in medical aesthetics?
Fred Helo (FH): Technology in aesthetic medicine is saving time for both the patient and clinics, securing more appointment bookings, and ultimately maximising revenue. Patients can instantly access information like pre-treatment instructions or aftercare advice, while automated messaging, reminders, and scheduling tools make communication from the clinic to the patient much smoother and intuitive.
Online booking, digital forms, and virtual consultations all remove unnecessary challenges, making it more convenient for patients to fit their treatments into their busy lives and allowing aesthetic professionals to manage their calendars more efficiently.
By optimising communication and making scheduling convenient, aesthetic medicine professionals improve their relationships with patients, ultimately improving overall patient satisfaction and boosting loyalty & retention rates for a healthier bottom line.
AM: What are the most effective strategies for fostering long-term patient relationships?
FH: We’ve found that in medical aesthetics, trust and consistency are incredibly important. Patients will only return if they feel understood, valued, and supported. But once you have built that rapport, it’s crucial to nurture the relationship to foster patient loyalty.
One great way to encourage repeat visits is by offering loyalty programmes and membership plans. Once patients are able to see the value in maintaining their results, rather than coming in for a one-off procedure, retention naturally improves.
Automated communication also cultivates long-term relationships, whether it’s sending targeted email campaigns, offering birthday discounts, or setting up automatic reminders for when the patients should visit next. Something as simple as a text or email at the right time can make all the difference.
AM: How can medical aesthetics clinics reduce administrative burdens while improving operational efficiency?
FH: The less time an aesthetic clinician spends on admin tasks, the more time they have for patients. One of the biggest setbacks I see for this sector is the number of manual processes.
Digital intake forms, consent forms, and virtual charting will save you a ton of backend time. Integrating payment systems and invoicing can save hours, not to mention the headaches, of manual billing and tracking.
Another area that can be streamlined to simplify daily workflows is quite simple – patient scheduling. The right appointment management tool with automated reminders can help reduce no-shows, optimise availability, and even protect revenue by automatically requiring deposits at the time of booking. Plus, requesting essential information through user-friendly forms helps ensure you get the right context you need to provide the best care for your patient.
AM: How can clinics use patient data and analytics to refine their services and enhance outcomes?
FH: Data is one of the most powerful tools clinics can have at their fingertips, if used the right way. While the numbers might seem daunting to a lot of people, certain platforms like Vagaro make it easy to understand. You can learn so much about your patients and your business simply by looking at reporting.
For example, one key metric to track is treatment retention: how often are patients returning for maintenance treatments? If retention is low, you might need to educate your patient on the benefits of long-term care.
Revenue per appointment is another valuable metric you can track. It shows where you can improve efficiency, adjust pricing strategies, or even introduce complementary services that enhance the original booking.
Feedback data is just as important. Digital surveys, reviews, and consultation notes help you understand what’s working for your patients and what isn’t. Your patients are your biggest resource for feedback, ask them, and you might learn something you hadn’t known earlier.
By adjusting your treatments, service offerings, and optimising patient communication, you can easily increase the bottom line of the clinic.
AM: What emerging digital trends are shaping the future of patient management and clinic operations?
FH: We’re seeing a big shift towards AI-driven personalisation and automation to improve patient experiences. Clinics that are embracing these trends will have a serious competitive edge in the industry.
AI is already analysing patient preferences and predicting what treatments they might be interested in. But we’re also seeing automation simplify repetitive tasks, from follow-up texts to marketing emails, so practitioners can focus on their patients rather than trying to craft the perfect communication.
The key to staying ahead is to simply be adaptable. Clinics that are exploring new software solutions to simplify their tech stack, automating as much as possible, and using data to guide their decisions on growth strategies will be leaders in long-term growth.
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