HealthCert Blog

Why are general practitioners and skin cancer doctors ideally positioned to provide aesthetic services in their practice?

The latest trends in health and skin care result in an increased demand for skin repair and rejuvenation services – and skilled practitioners. Patients with clinical skin conditions prefer to receive these services from a trusted, qualified doctor rather than from a beautician or cosmetic nurse. GPs and skin cancer doctors are optimally placed to provide these services because they already share a high level of rapport with their patients.

Better yet, they already possess the ideal patient base to offer aesthetic services, with a cohort of loyal, ageing, solar-damaged patients who are keen to preserve their health and longevity. As Australia’s ageing population continues to grow, so does the demand for aesthetic treatments among the older generation, especially men. The number of males undergoing cosmetic procedures has tripled in the past 20 years.

As GPs and skin cancer doctors already see target patients in their practice every day, there is little need to market the aesthetic treatments. Delivering aesthetic services in primary care gives physicians the chance to complement the services they already offer.

Patients feel much happier, safer and reassured seeing a doctor who they trust and who understands all aspects of their medical history, particularly since undergoing an aesthetic treatment may be unknown territory for them. Meeting patients’ aesthetic concerns and helping them to regain their healthy appearance and confidence will build long-term loyalty.

There is also considerable earning potential in delivering aesthetic services in primary care, as Australians spend around $1 billion each year on cosmetic procedures. Delivering these services is a simple way to attract non-Medicare based revenue into the practice.

Increasingly, aesthetic services are being delivered in a broad spectrum of disciplines and are now not only reserved for plastic surgeons. In fact, many significant advances in aesthetics have developed from other areas of medicine such as dermatology, gynaecology and ENT surgery. GPs and skin cancer doctors are well equipped to practice in this evolving field, too, since an integral part of aesthetic medicine is looking at the patient as a whole, rather than just at their face. GPs and skin cancer doctors are skilled in dealing with the whole person, considering their metabolic, endocrinological, mental and preventative health aspects which are all part of the aesthetic presentation.

GPs and skin cancer doctors are also well trained in dealing with the social and mental health history of their patients (thus being in an excellent position to understand patients’ needs), and can determine the motivation for seeking aesthetic treatments in the first place. The physician can then tailor evidence-based treatment plans that address all aspects of their patients’ concerns in a supportive, medical-focused environment.

To learn more, please join us at the next Certificate Courses in Aesthetic Medicine.