Need To See Your Dermatologist Now? Ask For BOTOX.
Is your dermatologist too busy to see you right away for a strange mole that popped up on your back? His receptionist tells you that the earliest appointment is about six weeks away. All you can think about is “Dear God, what if I have skin cancer? Is six weeks too long to wait?” or less melodramatically – “My face has erupted with horrible, painful, devil red bumps – acne at my age? I can’t face the world like this for six weeks.”
Whatever your skin care concern, don’t tell them what it is. Tell the receptionist you want BOTOX and bingo, his appointment calendar has suddenly and miraculously opened up and you’ve just become his favorite date. Frightening indeed.
So what prompted this post? An article from a new blog I found this morning. The blog in question is Plastic Surgery 101 and it’s a good read. Here’s the disturbing passage (originally quoted in the New York Times) from ”
How BOTOX affects your access to a Dermatologist. (Hint: it’s not in a good way) ”
:
Submitted by Ms. distressedDERMA on Tuesday, 4 September 2007Basically it highlights the September Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology article which published an “expose” on how it is easier to get a Dermatologist to return your call if they think you’re going to schedule a BOTOX injection versus getting an appointment to have an irregular mole evaluated for skin cancer.
September 4th, 2007 at 7:37 pm
Oh my friend just sent me that article, or a similar one. It’s weird because I used to go to the Dermatologist all the time, and they never tried to sell me Botox or chemical peels or anything. They never even mentioned any of their treatments once, but I know they do them since they have commercials on tv. And I was there for acne, and wrinkles, so you’d think they jump on the chance to make more money.
September 6th, 2007 at 5:58 pm
Hi,
The American Academy of Dermatology article still kind of frightens me because it shows what appears to be an industry-wide attitude. I guess I’ve been fortunate since my dermatologist is really good about seeing me within a reasonable period of time.
When I first went to their practice I did get the up-sell bit but it’s too be expected and it didn’t bother me. To date their practice is the only one that actually takes skin care concerns such as blemishes or wrinkles seriously. Many of the ones I went to in the past thought that I was making a big deal out of a few cystic bumps because “you know there are far worse cases…”.
September 16th, 2007 at 3:50 pm
Great blog! Thanks. I recently had Botox done and by accident I stumbled upon http://www.thepatientsadvantage.com. I used them when looking for a provider.
What I liked the most was that my profile remained anynomyous until I was ready to decide what to do. I received replies from four surgeons that met all the things I was looking for. I liked having that complete control without the sales pressure that some of these places can be known for.
If you are going to go down the cosmetic surgery road…better to be safe than sorry. Check them out.