Using Video Conferencing To Spur Medical Tourism And Grow Your Practice

It wasn’t until I published an aesthetic DPM Blog on fat transfers and fat pad restoration, which received thousands of hits, that medical tourism was something I practiced.¹ Shortly after, the email inquiries regarding the procedure started flooding in.  

Prior to the published article, I received calls from colleagues and potential local patients as my search engine optimization was focused on a more local and focused geographic area. I was lecturing on the concept and word was spreading within my profession. 

Fat pad restoration is a procedure one performs when patients have atrophy of high-pressure areas on the foot. One would perform the procedure with injectable dermal fillers, allografts or fat transfers. The concept is gaining momentum but few doctors do fat transfers.

The point here is not about fat pad restoration but finding a niche and unique concept or procedure that you can offer. If you have a technique that can truly help people, I encourage you to share it with the world. There may be hundreds of people around the world who are searching for an answer that you may be able to provide.

We routinely get e-mail inquiries from Utah, California, Montana, Switzerland, Sweden, the Netherlands and South America. Initially, I returned e-mails, citing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). I was helping the patients who e-mailed me find a doctor in their area but not many doctors were offering the procedure.

When I was unable to help and too many emails were coming in, I started offering HIPAA-compliant video consultations. The consultation is prepaid (our procedure is not covered by insurance) and is a 15-minute face-to-face video conference. If additional time is needed, we bill in 15-minute increments. The video consultation led to patients flying in nationally and internationally for me to perform the procedures. Medical tourism in my practice started to take off.

This is an amazing use of technology. From online blogging to email introductions, video consultations have led to an increase in patient volume to perform a unique procedure that allows people to walk pain-free.

If you are interested in medical tourism, I encourage you to establish a program within your office. Understand the basic laws and rules established in your state in regard to medical tourism, which is becoming more mainstream as the use of technology in medicine expands. Start by establishing a visiting liaison. The class A service will help with your patient’s travel plans, hotel reservations, restaurants and shopping, doctor visits and procedure itinerary, post-procedure care and therapy. We provide all necessary supplies and equipment for the procedure. Post-recovery travel instructions and transitioning care to a local doctor are important components of successful medical tourism. Continuity of care and follow-up visits are necessary.

Being able to provide a unique procedure to international patients who cannot find solutions in their own region can be extremely rewarding. 

References

1. Schoenhaus Gold J. The growing niche of aesthetic foot care. Podiatry Today DPM Blog. Available at https://www.podiatrytoday.com/blogged/growing-niche-aesthetic-foot-care . Published March 8, 2017.