Editor's Note: This is the second article in a two-part series. Read more about Reedy's take on accuracy and patient education in Part I.
Brian Reedy, M.D., and his staff at Berks Plastic Surgery engage with their patients via Facebook Live videos, in which he streams esthetic procedures such as Botox and CoolSculpting live to educate and demystify.
The board-certified plastic surgeon shared his take on how to protect patient privacy and reach out to under-represented demographics in part II of Skin Inc.’s exclusive interview.
"[Facebook Live] allows me to control the message in terms of making sure the proper information is conveyed." — Brian Reedy, M.D.
Patients First
Before appearing in videos, patients sign a consent form agreeing to be in a public forum. As Reedy frequently receives procedures in the live videos, he becomes a patient of his practice and signs the same forms in order to remain compliant with HIPAA and other privacy regulations.
“What’s great about Facebook Live is that it allows me to control the message in terms of making sure the proper information is conveyed. It allows the patients, especially patients who haven’t been to the practice before, to see me, see my staff and the office in the background, and it’s really a unique opportunity for them to see my personality and even engage live,” said Reedy.
Reaching Out
Reedy has been able to reach out to demographics that typically do not seek out esthetic procedures, such as his male patients. He recognized that women are more often exposed to media outlets that expose and educate them about available esthetic procedures, but “in general men are in media outlets that are not exposed to that. … I’ve found that, especially with Botox and injectables, many times men are introduced to it by their partner. When they see what it can do in terms of giving a more youthful and relaxed appearance, they’re thrilled with it.”
“A lot of the time patients know they’re unhappy with something, but they just don’t know what to do, or know what it’s all about."
Following a larger trend, Reedy has found that male patients are especially receptive to non-invasive procedures that offer immediate results with little to no downtime, but that it is a challenge to expose these patients to their availability.
“A lot of the time patients know they’re unhappy with something, but they just don’t know what to do, or know what it’s all about. When they can see that injection or [procedure] live, that it’s painless and only takes [a short amount of time], it gets rid of the fear and educates them,” said Reedy.
