If you’re considering adding facial injectables to your practice or you’ve already taken that step, you might be wondering how to promote those new services and create patient awareness. After all, what good are advanced skills if no one knows about them? Finding inexpensive and creative ways to advertise and grow your esthetic practice can be daunting. Without a doubt, posting photos of quality injectable results on Social Media (SoMe) can be a powerful marketing tool and affirms your skill as an injector. What better way is there to generate patient enthusiasm than showcasing successful outcomes of the very procedures they’re seeking?
In dentistry, and in health care overall, SoMe has evolved into a powerful tool to educate, communicate and even market to patients. This vehicle is especially true for practices with an esthetic treatment component. Long before injectables arrived on the scene, dentists were posting before-and-after pictures of cosmetic smile transformations as a popular and apparently successful marketing strategy. It makes sense that a similar approach with facial injectables could be equally effective.
But is it wise? Can SoMe posts put you and your office at risk?
It’s not a simple yes or no answer. To explain, we need to briefly discuss the generally despised and almost universally misunderstood acronym: “HIPAA.” Since enactment, dentists have largely ignored its statutes pertaining to photography and patient privacy. What I mean is, seldom, does a dentist ask for the required written permission to post a patient's before-and-after photo of dentition. Yet, according to the Omnibus law, anything capable of identifying a patient - and we all know that includes teeth - is subject to the regulation. It doesn’t help that Dental HIPAA Compliance Training only glosses over the subject of dental photography - if it mentions it at all. Unfortunately, this absence reinforces the widely held myth that posting pictures of a patient’s teeth is a non-issue. But the law is clear. If a patient can make a convincing case that they can be positively identified by a photo - that constitutes a HIPAA violation.
This long-standing confusion is probably amplified by a number of factors:
- HIPAA Legislation was enacted after many of today’s practicing dentists graduated, so the bill and its contents were absent from dental education prior to 1997.
- The Omnibus Bill went through several modifications, with the most recent in 2013. Even its summary is 26 pages long! The document is dense and written in a typical legislative style that’s not easily digested nor understood.
- Medical and dental textbooks published prior to the law are still in use today. These volumes contain photos of individuals with black rectangles placed over their eyes to “conceal their identity” (accepted practice prior to HIPAA).
- And to be completely fair, for most non-dentists, it’s a bit challenging to identify someone solely by dentition. A factor that’s likely kept many dentists out of hot water thus far.
What are the recommendations for an injectable practice’s SoMe Strategy?
First and foremost, your entire office must be trained in patient privacy rules and Social Media. That responsibility rests with you. Never assume staff is trained simply because they’ve worked in another healthcare office. Creating a formal written policy for Office Social Media serves as a discussion outline as well as a staff handout, and it’s excellent practice.
Employment consequences for SoMe-patient privacy infractions vary, with some offices maintaining a zero-tolerance policy. Every office and situation are unique. Doctors are urged to seek advice from a trusted attorney when creating employment policy. Bear in mind that the practice owner is often subject to fines and penalties associated with privacy breaches committed by staff. Moreover, liability goes beyond a practice’s SoMe accounts. There are cases where staff has posted patient-sensitive information on their own personal social accounts which resulted in lawsuits and substantial fines for the office. Getting ahead of this, before a problem occurs, should remain a top priority.
As mentioned, establishing written office protocols for protected health information is just smart business. This process should include a systemized approach to patient photography, data storage and a formal consent process for potential use of any patient photos - whether intended use is for academic, marketing or other public purposes. The consent discussion should be clear and unambiguous without sugar-coating the true nature of object-permanence on the internet. Using the “Delete” button on the web is like putting a throw rug over an ink stain on a cement floor. Once published, anything can be found, even after it’s been deleted.
Finally, think twice before you post. Even if the content doesn’t violate HIPAA laws, consider how it might affect your reputation and image. Preserving a professional persona is an element none of us can leave to chance. The focus of content should lean toward meducation, not medutainment. Institute an office SoMe-review process that compares any proposed posts with pre-determined parameters. If the proposal falls short, move on to something else. No post is a lot better than a bad post.
When used wisely, SoMe is an economical way to create awareness of your practice and its offerings, as well as build trust with existing and prospective patients. Engaging with your followers can increase loyalty and generate word of mouth advertising. It can also drive traffic to your website! We’ve all seen how Social Media platforms continue to evolve and change. What’s hot today is often cold tomorrow. However, what remains the same are the marketing fundamentals used by all businesses to take advantage of the advertising potential these sites offer. SoMe is here to stay. Consider how your office might benefit from participation.
If you’d like to know more about how to promote and advertise your injectable practice pick up a copy of my Book on Amazon: START AND GROW YOUR COSMETIC INJECTABLE PRACTICE.
