Launching and Promoting your weight management program

Launching and promoting a weight management program within a Medical Aesthetics clinic in the UK can greatly benefit patients and contribute to the overall well-being of the community. People who are trying to lose weight most of the time share certain characteristics; they are particularly conscious of their appearance and how they come across to others¹. However before considering setting up a new programme you should firstly assess the opportunity within your community. Here are some suggestions of how to do that:

• Review your database and identify potential patients who may benefit from weight loss
• Send out a survey to your patients to understand who may be interested in the service
• Gain qualitative feedback from your clinic team to understand how often the subject of excess weight comes up when undertaking consultations
• Consider your other services or treatments and if a weight management service would complement the offering
• Approach other industry leaders to understand how they have successfully set up weight management services 

You are uniquely qualified to initiate and guide your patients through weight management programmes. In the next set of topics we will provide a framework to help you and your patients get the most out of your programme.

Firstly, here are some aspects to think about before setting up a weight management program:

• What will you need to do to roll out a weight management programme (e.g. staff training, raising awareness of the programme)?
• What other services may be needed to support your weight management programme (e.g. diet and exercise coaching)?
• What is the expected number of patients that would enrol in your programme?
• How long do you expect the patients to be enrolled in the programme for?
• If applicable, how many clinics would you roll this programme out to?
• Will the provision of the programme be online, face-to-face or hybrid?

Consider each of these questions before moving onto the next topic.

References:

1. Kantar. 38% of UK adults say they are trying to lose weight. 2019, Available at https://www.kantar.com.uki/inspiration/consumer/38-percetof-uk-adults-say-they-are-trying-to-lose-weight.