While medicine exists to heal people, it is also a business. When it comes to meeting consumer demand, you must explore all of your options. This includes selling ancillary products in your office and through your e-commerce platform. Your patients are at home, researching treatment options to direct their healthcare spend toward what they decide has value, and there is both financial gain and patient satisfaction at play.
Due to uncertainty in healthcare reimbursements, higher costs and greater regulation, physician practices continue to seek ways to increase revenue. The COVID-19 era has created havoc with reduced revenue due to social distancing. However, it has also created an opportunity to add more consumer-driven healthcare ancillary products that will meet patient demand for alternative treatments they can self-administer and also add revenue to your practice.
Adding ancillary medical services and products such as CBD, aesthetic, cosmetic, nutritional supplements, or other types of retail services, works for a variety of reasons. First, you can attract new patients and retain established patients who are seeking treatments that do not require a face-to-face visit. Second, patients have become excellent researchers in control of their healthcare spend. Ancillary (retail) products become both a patient satisfier and a revenue stream for your practice. Third, healthcare continues to shift from fee to value, so it’s critical to meet patients with products that they believe have value.
While many physicians offer ancillary/retail products, the competition within the medical ancillary product industry is tight, and most outcomes are anecdotal. This means you must be diligent to sift through the products and find a balance between consumer demand and what you feel are good products that you can stand behind.
CAUTION – This strategy requires research and planning to be successful. Instead of simply guessing what ancillary products to add, physicians should carefully consider each product, determine the value concerning their specialty, and perform financial and clinical due diligence on every company whose product they support.
Remain Patient-Centric
Consider your market’s demands instead of your preferences. Access, quality and cost remain at the forefront of patients’ minds regarding any product or service that you provide. Healthcare continues to become more consumer-driven and dependent on technology for ease of access and purchasing services. Consider this when you set up your e-platform and determine if you are going to offer ancillary products.
Remain True to Your Values
Just because a product sells at one practice doesn’t mean it’s a great product or that it will sell well at your practice. Before you broaden your product lines, do your homework. Listen to your patients, ask for feedback and, once you’ve selected your product(s), assure your patients you have partnered with a reputable company whose product you believe in.
Don’t add an ancillary product if you’re not comfortable using it yourself. Many times, physicians adopt a hands-off approach by allowing a technician, nurse or front-office staff to select, sell the product and/or educate the patient. It’s not worth the risk to add any product if you’re not willing to know it well and stand behind its claims.
Healthwise – Never Compromising Values
While always being mindful of values in the healthcare space, Healthwise Management can help you determine a pathway to ancillary revenue by selecting products that will enhance your practice, bring value to your patients and provide assurance that you’ve partnered with a reputable company whose product is based on science and upholds the highest ethical standards.
Contact Healthwise today and we’ll be happy to discuss your ancillary product programming.
