Article preview from Medtech Insight - December , 2011
The effectiveness of a product is only one aspect of how well a device will succeed in the aesthetics market. In the following interview, Steven H. Dayan, MD, a noted Chicago plastic surgeon, tells Medtech Insight that manufacturers seeking to enter this space need to spend time on market research and fully understand where their products will be used and who will use them.
Article preview from Medtech Insight - December , 2011
Medtech Insight: What do manufacturers need to consider when developing products for the aesthetics market?
Dr. Steven H. Dayan: A lot. In my opinion, especially for those companies developing skin-rejuvenating devices, many of them are missing key information when they are creating their products. Many manufacturers are only focusing on objective evidence about removing wrinkles or tightening skin. But there’s so much more to it before these products are going to be successful in a physician’s practice, and understanding how a product fits into that practice is absolutely critical.
One thing that should be considered is who is using the product during a procedure. Is the physician going to administer the treatment or is someone else going to do it? If I’m going to delegate the procedure to an extended provider, I often charge less money. However, if it’s an invasive procedure with greater risk, then I have to do it and it likely will be an expensive procedure. If I’m going to have to do the procedure, then how long does it take? Is it a technically straightforward, low-risk procedure that takes me two minutes, or a procedure that takes me 20 minutes? If the procedure is more involved and takes me 20 minutes, a physician’s time theoretically bills out more than a nurse or, physician’s assistant, or esthetician, and I have to charge more. So, the manufacturer needs to consider who they are targeting to provide the treatment when developing a price point.
Along that line, manufacturers also have to consider if they are aiming for a dermatologist or a plastic surgeon. That has to be evaluated because those markets are different. The patient who comes to see a plastic surgeon is not necessarily the same patient who goes to see a dermatologist or an esthetician. Patients have different expectations based on the provider they see.
Often manufacturers say their products are geared toward both the plastic surgeon and the dermatologist. When you hear that, as a plastic surgeon, does that bother you?
It doesn’t bother me. I think it’s important that aesthetic companies realize the market is much more segmented than it appears. Often when companies first get into this space, they think we’re all the same. But the market is actually very different – both with respect to the doctors administering the treatment and the process of administering the treatment. The market that providers are going after, meaning the patient, also is different.
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