Building a successful practice depends upon two things: achieving great clinical outcomes and providing outstanding customer service. Smart physicians know that they alone can’t do both. They need a team that is informed, motivated, engaged and highly skilled in the art of aesthetic practice. This is where THE Aesthetic Practice AssociationTM (TAPA) and the Certified Aesthetic ConsultantTM (CAC) program come into play. We provide the education and instill the confidence in everyone from your receptionist to your nurse practitioner. We’ll make certain your whole team has the skills to deliver on the promises you make to patients. What’s more, you’ll know that your people are prepared when they proudly display their CAC certificate.
Latest News
Hollywood Drives Consumer Interest in Aesthetic Procedures
To some, it may look like just another street, complete with restaurants, nail salons and office buildings. This perception fades away the moment you spot the paparazzi, sometimes dozens of them, impatiently waiting for a glimpse of celebrity. The majority of the camera lenses are focused on the front doors of several cosmetic surgery practices. As plastic surgeon Stuart Linder, M.D., F.A.C.S., explained, "There have been instances where the paparazzi hang around our front door every day. I've seen 25 paparazzi at a time."
"There was a time when this street wasn't even on the radar screen," acknowl- edged Frank Ryan, M.D., F.A.C.S., a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, Calif. "Now, there's so many paparazzi, you don't even look twice. This has become a media hotspot." This media hotspot goes by another name: Bedford Drive. Placed squarely in the middle of Beverly Hills, Bedford Drive is more than just a street. It is an epicenter of the relationship between Hollywood and aesthetics.
This relationship has many partners; the media, celebrities, aesthetic practitioners and fans. The patient who comes in asking for Angelina Jolie's lips is playing her part. So is the aging action hero who wants to stay in the movie business, as well as the up-and-coming starlet who is looking to boost her career. Media moguls who sell celebrity magazines are part of this relationship, as are the basement bloggers declaring who's had work done and who hasn't. Increasingly, plastic surgeons and other aesthetic practitioners are playing an active part in this equation. Some step into the limelight, hosting reality shows and commenting on new procedures; others are dragged unwillingly into the spotlight, defending the profession against tabloid-fueled controversy.
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Educated Patients Migrate Towards Physician-Dispensed Topicals
In 2008 global sales for physician-dispensed products reached $572.4 million and are expected to continue growing by an average of 13.1% per year to reach over $1 billion by 2013. While skincare sales in traditional retail channels – including prestige and mass retail markets – remain flat or only slightly elevated, the physician channel continues to grow at a rapid pace with no end in sight.
As a physician in the medical aesthetic world your patients expect you to dis- pense quality skincare products. Traditional retail brands are marketing their skin- care products as more medical, but consumers are already drawn to physician's offices by other advanced cosmetic procedures and technologies.
Today's patients are better informed about skincare ingredients and brands. As they become more sophisticated about the effectiveness of higher performance physician-dispensed topicals they will continue migrating to medical practices to purchase their daily skincare products. With this in mind, dispensing medical skincare should be considered an important part of an aesthetic practice's armamentarium – as much as the latest laser technology.
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THE Aesthetic Practice Survey Reveals Procedure Market Growth Areas
In early 2010, Medical Insight, Inc. (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) conducted a detailed survey of more than 20,000 aesthetic practices across the U.S. Respondents revealed their candid thoughts regarding which products and treatments they believe offer the best clinical results with fewest side effects. They also described current trends among their patients and predicted how these dynamics might shift during 2010. Results confirm the significant impact that a weak economy has had upon both patient spending and practice budgets, but also highlight a deep undercurrent of optimism within the industry as practitioners identify areas of consumer needs and adjust their practices to meet this demand.
Interest in emerging medical aesthetic technologies and treatments remains strong, although most physicians are highly satisfied with results achieved by current approach- es. While aesthetic practices continue to expand into new treatments and procedures, they are being more selective than in past years.
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Practices Trust in Patient-Centered Team to Endure Adversity and Achieve Lasting Success
Years ago I awoke to a National Public Radio story that immediately piqued my interest. Morning Edition host Alex Chadwick was interviewing Mark Burnett, creator of a multi-sport, extreme event called the Eco-Challenge. The competition involves 48 teams who race nearly 24 hours a day for ten straight days through a 300 mile course with only a compass. The course includes incredible challenges: white water rafting, repelling waterfalls, a trek over the highest mountain in Australia, hiking, riding horses, climbing rocks and more. The teams that entered were formidable, tenacious, courageous, dedicated, outfitted with the finest of gear and immensely experienced, high-performance athletes.
What caught my attention though was a comment from Mr. Burnett on the attributes of those who win the contest. It was not what I expected. "It's never the fittest, strongest people who win. It's really the people who are the most flexible and know how to work as a team and who don't take every setback as a major disaster," he shared. "It's the antithesis of a triathlon where the strongest, fittest people win because after a couple of days everybody's pretty much on their knees, completely exhausted and stressed. It's a matter of how they deal with that level of stress, tiredness and fatigue. It is really maturity, compassion and teamwork that win every time."
That one short interview has inspired me to hours of contemplation on how I approach winning in life. In the U.S., quite often we think it’s the strongest or the smartest; those born with luck and talent that consistently are the winners. Though, as illustrated in the Eco-Challenge, in life, the playing field gets leveled after you’ve been in the race awhile. It became clear to me then that I didn’t have to be the strongest, smartest, richest and most talented to win. Instead if I never quit, helped even the weakest member of my team, listened to direct feedback and worked on building great relationships, I would win. You see, everyday life is not at all like a triathlon, but instead more like this Eco-Challenge.
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Benefits of Joining TAPA:
- Professional training and certification
- TAPA consumer outreach and practice referral
- Exclusive market data
- Technology and product evaluations
- Exclusive market research data
- Peer-to-peer networking
- Practice development support
- Access to expert training
- Buying discounts
- THE Aesthetic Guide® publications
Mission Statement
TAPA is a community of physicians, aesthetic extenders and office staff devoted to enterprise growth and professional development. As the leading association that provides education and training of medical aesthetic practitioners worldwide, TAPA is unique in offering the industry’s only CAC program.
