ALPHAEON moves into the EU
Many American doctors are pretty sophisticated in how they run their businesses, often employing full-time business managers and enlisting accountancies to oversee their holdings and look after the bottom line. In addition to thriving medical and surgical practices, it is common for aesthetic physicians in the US to join group practices, operate separate medispa entities, add lucrative retail verticals including their own eponymous skincare brands, and maintain clinical research facilities. However, European physicians are more inclined to spend their entire careers in low-tech solo clinics and maintain a clinic at a hospital or university. Many work from a clinic that comprises a small office, one or two consulting rooms, and a single receptionist or assistant.
In light of the inherent cultural differences in the way European physicians operate their clinics as compared with their American counterparts, launching the ALPHAEON model in Europe may have its share of challenges, but only time will tell.
‘While there are different laws and nuances in each country, we believe our global strategy is consistent with the ALPHAEON MD approach. We plan to localise our offering commensurate with each nuance in each market. We have several modules/offerings within the ALPHAEON MD platform; we will find that in some countries we will launch all of the modules and in others we will only launch some based on requirements and market needs,’ said Robert E. Grant, CEO of ALPHAEON.
According to Plastic Surgeon Per Heden, founder and partner of Akademikliniken, Europe’s largest private plastic surgery hospital, in Stockholm, Sweden, ‘I am one of only a few physicians outside the US who is a founding member in Strathsprey Crown/ALPHAEON. The Sunshine Act is already affecting doctors outside of the US and it will all increase; rapidly focusing on the self-pay market makes life so much easier. To have important key opinion leaders (KOLs) involved in ALPHAEON means that due diligence and future investments will become much easier with input from people who know the business from the inside. And this valuable information is achieved free of charge.’
ShoutMD
A vital component of ALPHAEON’s strategy is to generate patient referrals through online ads that direct consumers to the company’s shoutmd.com website to read up on procedures and products. ShoutMD, and the app available from the iTunes Store, is defined as ‘a unique crowd intelligence platform that allows physician specialists to share insights, start discussions, and collaborate with peers to improve the patient experience and outcomes’.
Another cog in the ALPHAEON wheel that is promising to be all things to all doctors, is to offer practice marketing and management services. According to Calobrace, ‘ALPHAEON is dedicated to partnering with board-certified lifestyle healthcare providers and helping them to be more successful. That includes helping them run a more efficient practice, partnering in marketing strategies, and educating the public on finding a board-certified qualified lifestyle healthcare provider (the ALPHAEON Doctor). This company really is ‘Of doctors, For Patients’.’
So how many physicians are on board to date? According to Grant, ‘Currently there are more than 500 ShoutMD members, and we anticipate within in the next few years ShoutMD membership will exceed 10000 globally.’
It has been reported that ALPHAEON may be looking towards an IPO in 2014.
