Differentiating your program to a pharmacy’s

A private Medical Aesthetics and Wellness clinic can differentiate its weight management program from a pharmacy’s offering in the UK by focusing on personalized, comprehensive, holistic  care that goes beyond simple product dispensing. There are millions of people in the UK who are overweight or obese and as we have seen there is much overlap between those wanting to lose weight and those who want to looks and feel good about themselves. By understanding how your clinic can provide a unique proposition (a USP) for a particular type of patient, for example those who want a more personalised service, you can differentiate your program and stand out from the crowd.

Building on the last topics you could differentiate your program through individualized patient  assessments. Conduct thorough assessments, including medical history, metabolic rate, and lifestyle factors to tailor weight management plans uniquely for each patient. For example, look at how you could incorporate a continuous glucose monitor into your weight management program (consumer focused options include Lingo from Abbott, Veri or Levels. Or you could use the basic app from Abbott and interpret the data yourself if you are confident in your ability), or think about how you could provide clear outcomes beyond weight loss by incorporating a dexascan from an external operator into your program. 

Use blood testing to identify underlying issues contributing to weight gain, such as hormonal imbalances. For example look at HURDLE or KnowingLabs who both offer white label blood testing for clinics. Other individualised tests may be interesting for your patients also. Tests such as GlycanAge can show your patients how their new healthy program is improving their biological age. GlycanAge measures the chronic inflammation in an individual’s system to determine their biological age. A decrease in biological age from before you patient starts a program shows their new lifestyle is improving their health.

Consider implementing behavioural counselling and support services to address emotional and psychological aspects of weight management. Make sure to include regular follow-ups and counselling sessions to help patients overcome challenges and make sustainable lifestyle changes if indicated. You can either offer this in-house if one of your team has the expertise or partner with an external specialist.

Consider how you could integrate advanced therapies, such as digital technologies or treatments such as regenerative medicine or personalized genetic-based interventions for a more advanced and holistic approach. Some examples might be Clever Clinic from HealthXchange as a digital program or genetic tests from LifeCodeGX.

Your program should always offer a multidisciplinary approach which is generally beyond what a pharmacy patient is looking for. Collaborate with a team of healthcare providers, including nutritionists, psychologists, and fitness specialists, to offer a well-rounded and multidisciplinary approach to weight management. Look at organising group sessions or workshops to foster a supportive community environment among patients.

Offer educational programs to empower patients with the knowledge and skills needed for sustainable weight management. Provide resources, workshops, and educational materials on nutrition, exercise, and healthy lifestyle choices. If one of your team has a particular interest in this area, make it a special part of their role to provide them with more development opportunity.

Expand services beyond weight management to encompass overall wellness, including stress management, sleep optimization, and preventive healthcare. Please see our course on Medical Longevity to learn more about these topics.

Most importantly look at you existing medical aesthetics treatments and how they could be incorporated into a more holistic into a wellbeing programme rather than only a weight management programme. Negative consequences of weight loss such as loose skin envelopes, lipodystrophy, facial changes and skin texture changes can occur. Review what treatments you currently offer in your practice that could help improve these changes aesthetically. Look at how you could incorporate other treatments such as cryo-lipolysis into your weight management program to achieve potentially greater fat loss, if indicated.

By focusing on personalized, expert-led care, behavioural support, and a comprehensive approach that extends beyond traditional prescription offerings, a medical aesthetics and healthcare clinic can position itself as a premium destination for individuals seeking effective and sustainable weight management and health improvement to allow the patient to look and feel their best from the inside out.