3 Major Errors Medi-Spas Make
Over the last decade we have seen a boom in medi-spas. And, with the recent down-turn in the economy, it has become harder and harder for many medi-spas to continue to generate the large profits they once saw. As a result, many medi-spas are trying new therapies to bring in new clients, trying to make their practices more streamlined and efficient and also trying to cut corners. As a result, we are seeing an uptick in errors –and not just treatment errors. In fact, today we’d like to talk about the three biggest errors that we are seeing medi-spas commit that don’t have to do with direct practitioner-client interactions.
The three kinds of errors we are talking about are:
1. Leaving patients alone in treatment rooms. We see this error a lot. A client is left alone in a treatment room, often for “only an instant,” and the client tries to sneak in a few additional treatments –like laser hair removal, for example, and the client injures him or herself. While, technically, this is the client’s own fault, it doesn’t matter, because, as a result, the medi-spa had a claim filed against them and they have to go through the medical malpractice claim process –so who is the real loser here? Make it your practice’s practice to never leave patients alone around medical equipment. (And, don’t be fooled into a false sense of security by making sure that all equipment is turned off before leaving patients alone –turning on equipment is not rocket-science.)
2. Forgetting to add new treatments to your medical malpractice insurance policy. While it seems like every day there is a new medi-spa treatment on the market and training readily available, many practices forget to add these new treatments to their medical malpractice insurance policy. Forgetting to do so can prove to be a real nightmare, should a medical malpractice case arise from the new treatment. Insurance companies can refuse to cover claims from treatments that are not covered under the policy.
3. Forgetting to add new employees to your medical malpractice insurance policy. Similar to above, it is very painful for spa owners to hear that they are not covered exactly when they need it the most.
Thus, while adding new services or practitioners to your medical malpractice insurance policy can seem like a mundane administrative task that does not need to be at the top of your list of things to do, it should be. And, also add to the top of your list implementing your new policy on never leaving patients alone in treatment rooms.
