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An Interview with Podiatrist Kirsten Sinclair
We asked Kirsten, after owning the MLS laser for one year, how it had added value to her practice?
The value laser has created for my clinic is not just financial but also in terms of additional treatment options we can now offer patients and from a marketing perspective too – our clinic is seen as progressive. The way I organise and charge for laser treatments in our clinic may be different than other clinics, it’s just one way of doing it and it works for us…other practices can work out what would be best for them.
What additional treatments can you give?
Because of its wide scope, laser treatment potential extends beyond just MSK work. There is also potential to use it in wound care and fungal nails. Laser therefore adds value to what we can offer patients, both for new conditions we perhaps might not have had the equipment to treat before, and also an alternative option to conditions that are difficult to treat. It also gives an option for a lot of patients who have tried everything else (unsuccessfully) - it gives patients hope. And also… the above makes us look good! Which is great from a marketing perspective.
When we look to invest in the clinic, we want to get as much as we can for our money. To get a single machine which covers such a wide base of treatments is rare!
How has it changed you and your practice?
My happiness at work has increased dramatically. Laser is an enjoyable treatment to do, and seeing such rapid response from patients is so rewarding! After hammering people with shockwave, something I began to dread, laser is a joy to give. Patients find it very relaxing and often say just the motion of moving the laser head across their painful areas is soothing in itself. It’s really simple to use, the machine basically tells you exactly what to do. It’s an easy and effective treatment to perform meaning it’s minimum stress for the practitioner too. This is worth so much to me! I need to love what I do and I definitely love giving laser treatments.
Have you found the laser easy to market to your clients?
During our free trial period, we exchanged ‘free’ treatments for testimonials (12/12 practice patients experienced a reduction or resolution of their pain). We used these testimonials in our marketing and are now at the stage a year later where word of mouth has become our main marketing method. When paired with the brilliant promo materials we received from Celtic SMR at the start, our marketing at this point has not cost us a penny.
The laser makes us stand out as a progressive clinic, giving us something which elevates us over other practices in the area. It demonstrates that we are reinvesting our patient’s payments back into the clinic and are looking for better and additional treatment options for them.
It is great that the laser has benefitted the practice in so many ways – not just your patients, but also your enjoyment of the job. How then has is rewarded you financially?
Laser now makes up around 10% of our monthly appointments with definite scope to grow this (see zero spend on marketing above…!). For August 2020 this equated to an additional £1265 gross revenue. We took out a loan over 5 years to purchase our laser, if monthly laser repayment is £200 this give us a gross profit of £1065 for our clinic for August 2020. That’s without really pushing or targeting the marketing
We charge £55 for a single treatment or £200 for course of 4. I give the option of doing single treatments at a time with 4th treatment charged at £35 to equal course cost. This makes patients feel comfortable, not coerced if they don’t want to commit to a course or can’t pay all in one go. We all win. Follow up treatments after the 4th are charged at £50. I see this as a reward for patients who have committed to us.