iConsultAesthetic & Steve Jobs

If by now you hadn't guessed, we here at RCS Towers are BIG fans of Steve Jobs era Apple products. The iMac, MacBook, iPod, iPhone, iPad - all great iconic products with well designed software and they are beautiful to look at. We have banged on for a while now about Apple and Steve Jobs, so this will be our last related blog.

For a while anyway.

So with our geekish devotion to all things Steve, it stands to reason that when I created iConsult Software and designed iConsultAesthetic, I would try to harness some of this creative genius and embed it in our product. I see big parallels between what Jobs called "Industry Disruption" in his assault on the music business with the iPod and the current state of affairs in the Medical Aesthetics Industry.

As an outside consultant looking at Medical Aesthetics, I see a classic example of competing priorities and conflicting agendas, with different groups and organisations jockeying and trying to position themselves as the saviours of the industry and bastions of righteousness. A new focus on product safety and putting the Consumer/Client/Patient relationship at the heart of the process should be applauded by all, and would be called "Combining humanities with the sciences" in the Jobsian World.

This is a good thing, but its a little chaotic, confusing, self serving and and the implementation is random.

Let me explain.

Piracy is stealing, this we all know this and yet Napster was allowed to grow and thrive because it was a very difficult thing to stop, why? Because the Consumer decreed that MP3 was a better format than CD and wanting music content in this format, the fact it was free was a bonus. The Music Industry missed this point completely and attempted to kill MP3 by shutting down Napster, Jobs saw the conflict but he also saw the clear truth; the consumer would pay to download music digitally onto an MP3 player.

All hail iTunes. All Hail the iPod.

Lets take the Remote Prescribing consultation model as an example, it was not the ideal way of enabling the treatment of Botulinum Toxin injections but the Consumer decreed that they were happy being treated in this way so it was able to thrive. The Medical Aesthetic industry missed the point that making it safer was the way forward, by helping to transition the nurses over to the NIP model and ensured that the GMC reacted a BBC report and banned the practice entirely.

There is always a 3rd way, and thats what we need to look for. It's what Steve would have wanted.

The tenets of how one company managed to change so many unrelated industries.

There are ways in which we can learn from Jobs, and apply his logic to reimagining the Medical Aesthetics Industry. It's not to complicated, so lets explore.

Here is an excerpt from the Review of the regulations of Cosmetic Interventions Summary of the Responses to the Call for Evidence.

"Respondents felt that the review was timely and an important part of restoring public trust in the cosmetic interventions sector following the issues with PIP breast implants

Many felt that the current regulatory framework was inconsistent and did not reflect the many changes and innovations in such a fast-growing and dynamic sector

Training requirements were felt by many to be disproportionately weak compared to the potential risks of a procedure and more specialised training was welcomed

Dermal fillers and Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) and laser procedures were highlighted by many as an area where there was insufficient legislation to protect the public

Respondents were concerned about the lack of data being collected on implants, procedures, adverse incidents and outcomes

There were essential components of any new regulatory system. These were also some consistent themes or principles that respondents highlighted as being; 

• Information and advice
• Safety and quality
• Transparency and accountability"

These are great ideas and responses, but ultimately they are changes that will give short term fixes and don't address the real cultural issue that needs addressing;

Profit is put first. Always 

This the real issue, this is what is drove the PIP Implants issue.

So, if we apply these 12 rules according to Apple, what changes can we make to the Medical Aesthetics industry?

Focus - choose the highest priority actions and implement with excellence.

What are these? Implants register? Fillers as POM? Laser regulation? Information? Regulatory?

Simplicity - Identify how the Consumer can simply get access to the information and advice needed.

Take responsibility - We need a cultural shift towards putting the Consumer/Client/Patient relationship at the heart of the process, and a mechanism of ensuring that those who choose not to comply are held accountable. 

When behind, leapfrog - Use this time to create a model that could be reused to effect change in other areas of healthcare

Put products before profit - This is key. Not just the consumables, but everyone in this industry must do this;

1. What is my "Product"?
2. What is more important,  profit or product?
3. If you said profit you need to come on the Practice Transformations Course!

Don't be a slave to focus groups - caring about what a patient wants is not the same as continually asking them. Be intuitive, ask "What would my Mum say?"

Bend reality - Steve Jobs had a famous ability to push people to do the impossible, dubbed "The Reality Distortion Field", use yours to drive focus.

Impute - add tactile experiences the product or services used in Medical Aesthetics to create the best patient experience possible.

Push for perfection - do we care as much about what happens post treatments as before or during? Are we the best we can be? Real artists sign their work. Be proud.

Tolerate only A players - If something is wrong, say something. If you have really good staff you don't need to baby them. Set the standard for "A grade, and enforce it. Training issue solved

Engage face to face - creativity lives in spontaneity, don't be afraid to have freewheeling discussions with people about how to improve.

Stay hungry, stay foolish - people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones that do.

But this is just my view, what is yours? 

What is your favourite tenet and how would you apply it?

Take the Tablet

It happened on 29^th June 2007, with this simple slogan; ‘This is only the beginning’. It really was the beginning, and suddenly the Apple iPhone leapt into the global consciousness, it was sleek, cool, expensive and everyone wanted one. Everyone except me. I really couldn’t see the point - I had my Blackberry for work and my very powerful, capable and awesome Windows Mobile for playtime. 

“Why do I need to spend £400 on a poxy Apple iPhone? Oh I see, it does that too. Wow, it’s really easy to use, and I can ditch my iPod too. Ooh Angry Birds.” Sold, one iPhone to the man in the Panama hat.

A similar process happened in April 2010, with another simple slogan; 

‘The iPad is...’  Is what? 

Again, I couldn’t see the point initially, to me it was a big iPod Touch, it didn’t seem to do much. I was clearly wrong as Apple sold 1 Million units in half the time it took the iPhone to reach that number.

Then, with the iPad 2 it all became clear, I instantly saw the opportunities for it. I didn’t need a PC anymore - we were ‘Post PC’.

The term ‘Post PC’ was coined in June 2012 when Tim Cook, CEO of Apple proudly launched the 3^rd Generation iPad, and, when you consider that the 4^th Generation iPad launched in Oct 2012, Post PC also means ‘Apple have mastered the art of extracting cash out of you!”

A bit like children.

Anyway, ‘This thing is going to kill laptops’ I said confidently to Mrs RCS, waving around an iPad trying to work out how to spend £500 on a ‘toy’ without her noticing. Unlike the 1^st Gen iPad, the iPad 2 just worked, it’s a beautiful piece of modern design.

We now have many iPads and there isn’t a 6 year old around who can’t beat me at Angry Birds.

I now know the truth, tablets won’t just kill laptops, they will within the next few years change everything to do with personal and business computing, become the main tool for browsing the net, checking emails, watching films, reading the newspaper and magazines, interactive educational textbooks, making online purchases and business operations. 

Currently 29% of adults in the US own a tablet or eReader - 3 years ago that was only 2%, 

Consumers want information, they want a lot of it and yet a small fraction of websites are mobile optimised, or “Mobilised” as I call it. If you have a site with an abundance of Flash animations it won’t work on an iPad. Ever. However they’ll work fine on Android tablets, and Google are also beginning to favour ‘Mobilised” sites in their search rankings, but currently around 70% of tablets owned in the UK are iPads, so put ‘Mobilisation’ of your site top of your 2013 list. 

Once the Consumer has found you, you want them to buy something, so the next revolution to keep an eye out for is for ‘mCommerce’. 

M, or Mobile Commerce will drive the web forward, as currently only 10% of all global internet traffic is through mobile devices, yet some observers in the IT industry expect mobile web searches to overtake desktop usage in 2014. 

This unprecedented level of consumer uptake and investment is pushing development, with solutions like ‘PayPal Here’ www.paypal.com/here, that turn your smartphone into a credit card terminal promising to revolutionise small business transactions in the US.  

You can buy from Ebay, Amazon, Tesco, Pizza Express, pretty much anyone on your phone, soon your customers will be able to buy from you. With the introduction of 4G in to the UK and pretty much everywhere having WiFi there will be no where that you will be unable to get a reliable connection to t’internet. 

Everyone wants their own “App”, and there are great parallels with the late 1990’s when websites were ferociously expensive to build, but eventually as more people became capable of building low tech sites the cost reduced. This will happen with Apps, as there are a growing number of App Developers and demand for low capability apps is growing, but as long as Apple have an App Store this development will be slow for iPad.

The tablet has crossed over to become a legitimate business tool, that you no longer feel like a bit of a prat using to take notes in meetings. Evernote is an awesome notebook app, and recently has had a complete redesign making it very intuitive and highly recommended. 

Despite being sat here using a MacBook to write this article, (Tablets are not great for word processing) my iPad has become to my business like Milk is to Cornflakes, or Baxter is to Ron Burgundy. 

I use Dropbox to constantly ensure that all of my files are synchronized across all of my devices, which means that I can attend meetings without having to lug my laptop across London but if I need a file, I can access it without a panic. Brilliant.

Once I get home however, it is still swiped by one of the kids and begins it’s evening role by saving me from having to watching endless Peppa Pig. Apart from the TV, I can’t think of any other item I own that can be used by all members of my family, from aged 2 through to 68. 

How did I ever doubt it?

If this sounds a bit like an iPad commercial, you’ll have to forgive me. There are advantages to using Android tablets such as the Google Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD and Samsung Galaxy Tablet - they are cheaper than the iPad and have very good reviews. Check out www.techradar.com for some really good reviews on the top 15 Android tablets. 

You’ll just have to call me old fashioned, but despite Apple being the most annoying company in the world, I really like my iPad, and the iPad Mini is a great size.

So this is the this tablet revolution in action, however there is also the danger of forgetting the pioneer of all this; the SmartPhone. In the UK the majority of Smartphones sold are Android, and there is a still a big opportunity for them in the Post PC Era, there is opportunity for EVERYTHING, as it is all being reinvented. 

So what are the opportunities that are specific to Medical Aesthetics? Well in short, lots.

Most would agree that the Healthcare sector in the UK is not that technologically advanced, nor is it particularly geared to servicing a ‘consumer’, and we have a great opportunity to be able to stop playing catch up with the rest of society and propel ourselves forward by fully embracing the ‘Post PC Era’ and leading the way.

The US is leading the charge with ‘mHealth’ and there is an abundance of Apps and technology to support the healthcare industry over the pond. Check out www.imedicalapps.com for a good guide and reviews.

For me, one of the strange truths that always exists in Medical Aesthetics is that the consumer is often treated as a patient from the moment they decide to enter the process. 

Consumers vs Clients vs Patients. They have different goals.

Consumer wants information

Clients want value

Patients want an outcome

Different goals means they cannot all be treated in the same way.

It seems that the obvious thing to do, is to use the technology available to enable the individual to transition between these phases in a much smoother way and provide a far more compelling experience.

It makes no sense to me that in a cash pay environment, the consumer should not be experiencing the cutting edge of technological development, not paper based practices and handwritten notes. Surely it makes sense for them to be consulted using familiar technology, tablets can also take photo’s and record video, make notes and link into databases.

Recording images, video and data, such as consent, product, medical history etc would have a huge impact on patient safety and really engage them in the process.

Technology can also be used to raise standards, as what can be recorded can be measured, if it can be measured it can be audited.

Surely we can already do this? Well, apparently not. I have searched high and low for a solution that would help the Medical Aesthetics industry to capitalise on these simple truths and I couldn’t find one.

To achieve this I have been testing a new solution called iConsultAesthetic for a little while now, and it is ready for launch.

A wiser man once said that the best way to predict the future is to create it. So I did, I built iConsultAesthetic.

iConsultAesthetic is a tablet based tool that helps a busy medical practitioner capture patient data, perform a consultation and has a fully functioning digital consent process. It’s currently at beta test and will be due to launch early 2013. I am still happy to accept testers so check out www.iconsult-aesthetic.com if you want to drop me a line. 

I hope that 2013 provides you with health, wealth and happiness, sort out your site and embrace technology.

Will this era of austerity also be remembered as the era of reimagination, and the era when personal computers really came of age?

I really think it will, and I am really excited about how we can use technology to reimagine Medical Aesthetic and shape the industries future. 

It’s too good an opportunity to miss!

But who am I to predict the future? 

Let’s have a go. 

Next weeks lottery; 26,17,14,39,47,2,