Direct Healthcare in Cosmetics

There is an emerging business model in the delivery of healthcare called direct healthcare or direct care. Although many different forms of this model exist, the premise of this model is to deliver unlimited access to medical care with a monthly subscription. So, a patient and a provider meet, agree to a monthly fee, and the patient can have access to their providers services.

This system works great for the provider and the patient. The provider doesn’t have to worry about billing insurance and all the rules, contracts, and hassles that go along with that. They can practice how they want, without “big brother” telling them what to do. The patients benefit as well in that they can save some money and get more time with the provider.

Originally this model of healthcare was called “concierge medicine” in that only the rich or affluent could afford it. However, as it has evolved, it has become more affordable; and as it becomes more affordable, I can see it replacing the current model of healthcare delivery in this country.

Applying Direct Healthcare to Cosmetics

Personally, I have always been fascinated by direct healthcare. About a year ago I had an idea of developing a model of direct healthcare for cosmetics. The challenge with cosmetics is that the procedures are expensive, often requiring expensive machinery or costly injectables. The time to deliver the treatment can be high as well involving assistants in addition to the provider’s time.  But still I was intrigued. Could this model work in cosmetics?

So, I set out to develop a model that could work with cosmetics. My goals of this model were the following: the model had to be affordable for the patient, the model wouldn’t limit what the patient needed or wanted, and the model had to be profitable for the business. On this journey, I developed and trialed several different plans and models. Ultimately, they all had limitations. I won’t bother you with the details of the failures, but the good news is that I think I have fine tuned the system into a working model, for both the patient and the provider.

Introducing the Cosmetics Club

We are calling our new direct care cosmetic service here at Mountain West Medical the “Cosmetics Club.” The way it works is that members pay a monthly price for access to services. Services are then offered at basically cost. There are no limits on how often members can utilize services. The only limitation we put on our services is that they must be done during business hours and that the provider must deem the procedure safe. It is that simple. All the markup on provider offered services has been eliminated. Our aesthetician services are even offered at cost.

So, the jury is out on whether this model will work in cosmetics. I’ve tried hard to find other models out there to mirror, but frankly nothing like this exists at the prices that I offer. If you are interested, give us a call or book a free consultation online. We’d love to have you!

In health,

Dr. John McRae