Plastic Surgeon Allegedly Posted Nude Photos of Clients With Names

Six women in St. Louis have filed a lawsuit against a plastic surgeon who allegedly posted nude photos online of their torsos before and after surgery with their names attached to the images.

Is you website putting you at risk?

From an  ABC Morning story

Six women in St. Louis have filed a lawsuit against a plastic surgeon who allegedly posted nude photos online of their torsos before and after surgery with their names attached to the images. The women say this was done without their consent or knowledge.

The before and after photos appeared in Google images if the women's names were searched or if the doctor's name was searched, according Neil Bruntrager, the attorney representing all of the women. He said that if a viewer hovered the curser over the image, the woman's name would appear below the photo.

"Some of these women have public positions—lawyers, teachers, CPAs—all kinds of people who would be searched," Bruntrager said. "They were horrified. Every one of them has said, 'I'm embarrassed. I'm humiliated.'"

Here's what probably happened.

Images on the web use something called an 'Alt Tag' (alt = alternative) that gives information to search engines since they can't tell what images are of. These are often used when building a web site to categorize and 'tag' images so that whoever is building the website can tell what they're looking.

Hover over some of the images in the righ column and you'll see examples of Alt Tags in action.

In this case, the before and after pictures were 'labeled' with the names of the patients.... probably not intentional but it does make the women identifyable and the search engines will pick this up.

Make sure that this is not you.

Best Examples Of Bikini Line Hair Removal Advertising

It doesn't take a lot of thought to see where this is going. Sex still sells.

These ads are just a couple Wilkinson's ads for their bikini line razor that ran in the UK. I'm not sure they could get these on the air in the US and no reports here about how effecive they were, but they certainly grab your attention.

And another.

Bikini line laser hair removal is, if anything, growing in popularity. (Underarm / bikini line / lower legs are probably the top three. )

Here is A clever and funny print ad around the bikini line from Veet and a number of other bikini line ads for various products.

Medical Spa Advertising: Keeping it Legal - PART 2

State and federal regulations centering on medical spa advertising can often be daunting to navigate through.  How can you make sure your ads are within the “legal” realm?   Read on through Part 2 of Medical Spa Advertising - Keeping it Legal. 

Read: Medical Spa Advertising: Keeping it legal Part 1

The ever increasing number of State and Federal laws that can pertain to the use of photographs of patients has triggered a lot of questions from the medical community.  Below are some frequently asked questions and answers from Michael Sacopulos, General Counsel for Medical Justice Services.  Note these are general answers and are not State specific.  You should consult local licensed counsel to address laws, regulations and prohibitions specific to the State in which you practice.

Question #5: What concerns should I have if I want to implement an e-campaign to my database?

Answer: You will not be surprised to learn that there are specific Federal laws related to the use of e-mail campaigns for commercial purposes.  Specifically, the CAN-Spam Act sets forth the Federal requirements for those wishing to promote goods and services by e-mail.   Before you start to send those e-mails, check out the Federal Trade Commission’s website on this act:  http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/tubs/business/ecommerce/bus61.shtm  

Question #6: What should I know before I start a Facebook account?

Answer: From the legal perspective, information that you place on Facebook is treated exactly the same as information that you would place on your practice’s website.  However, some have found Facebook to have a more intimate feel.  People tend to make statements and do things on Facebook that they might not otherwise do on a typical web page.  We have all read the accounts of individuals losing a job because of some posting on Facebook.  I recommend that you keep two separate Facebook accounts.  You may have one for your practice and one for personal use.  I believe it to be a mistake to mix your personal and professional activities in one Facebook account. 

Question #7: Can I give a referral patient a gift card to use towards services?

Answer: Yes.  Few problems arise from giving a gift card or a discount to a patient that has been referred to your practice.  It is more difficult to compensate patients for the promotion of your practice.  As we discussed above, should you wish to compensate a patient for the use of his or her before and after photographs on your website, this fact must be disclosed. 

Question #8: If all these are legal requirements, why don’t more doctors get prosecuted?

Answer: This sounds like a practical question from a risk taker.  The answer to this question rests in the limited resources for enforcement.  Most people driving above the speed limit don’t receive a ticket, but it is clearly a possibility every time someone exceeds the speed limit.  One more word of caution: The penalties for violating some of the rules and regulations described above can be quite harsh.  Your smartest move is to try to comply with all rules and regulations regarding online advertising.                 

One final word of caution about online advertising and the use of patient images…Many professional societies have ethical guidelines that members are to follow when advertising.  These guidelines may be stricter than State or Federal laws.  The AAFPRS has some well reasoned guidelines that should be known by members prior to initiating an advertising campaign.  Members of the ACS should consult that society’s Code of Professional Conduct which can be found at http://www.facs.org/fellows_info/statements/stoprin.html. The AMA has an extensive document entitled “Principles Governing Advertising in Publications of the American Medical Association” which provides guidance.  This document can be found at http:/pubs.ama-assn.org/misc/adprinciples.pdf .

Mr. Sacopulos is a practicing attorney in Indiana.  This article reflects his opinions and perspectives on advertising and legal issues set forth in this article. 

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Medical Spa Photographs & Testimonials: Keeping it Legal

Medical Spa ads are often peppered with photos (highlighting “real” patients and models) and glowing testimonials.   

Images of more than ideal treatment results from Botox, laser hair removal, fillers, chemical peels, photofacials grace local rags to targeted online ad placements…okay, you get the picture. 

A recent article stated that there are now more medical spas in the US than Starbucks!  Now, that makes for a very competitive market. 

As you strategically, aggressively advertise your Medical Spa – are you aware of the legal guidelines & do you know how to keep your advertising legal? 

The ever increasing number of State and Federal laws that can pertain to the use of photographs of patients has triggered a lot of questions from the medical community.  Below are some frequently asked questions and answers from Michael Sacopulos, General Counsel for Medical Justice Services.  Note these are general answers and are not State specific.  You should consult local licensed counsel to address laws, regulations and prohibitions specific to the State in which you practice.

Question #1:

When do I need to use the label “MODEL” on a photograph?

Answer:

The term “model” should be used when the photograph is displaying the results of a procedure or procedures not performed by the physician or practice (displaying the photograph).  Here the term “model” is being used in a general representative fashion and is not being used to display a specific practice or physician’s professional services/results. 

Physicians should secure a written release from any individual, patient, or model before using a photograph of that individual, patient, or model in any way.  The release should be specific to the photographs being used.   The release should also specify the way or ways that the photographs may be used.  For example, a release “for educational purposes”, will not cover internet marketing.  Do not attempt to get a release signed that covers “any and all future images, photographs or depictions…”  Courts have ruled that releases can go stale.  Finally, it is best for the release to specify the conditions and manner by which an individual may revoke the release at a later date.  

Question #2:

I hear the use of testimonials has regulations. Please explain.

Answer:

There are several sources of regulations over the use of patient testimonials.  Some state licensing boards greatly restrict or prohibit testimonials.  Each state has different standards; some flexible, some very restrictive.  The Federal Trade Commission also has rules that apply to the posting of testimonials.  In general, a physician should make sure that the testimonial is accurate (what the patient really said and not paraphrased).

Question #3:

What does HIPAA have to say in its marketing regulations about the use of “before and after” photographs and testimonials?

Answer:

HIPAA in general protects patient privacy.  Although the act does many things, it would prohibit the use of before/after photographs without a patient’s permission.  However there is nothing in the act that would prevent the use of accurate before and after photographs with a patient’s prior approval.  As always, this approval should be documented.  Finally, it should be made clear that a patient can withdraw his or her approval to use the photographs at a later date and that the physician must comply with this subsequent withdrawal of approval.

Question #4:

What is this I am hearing about The Federal Trade Commission in regards to “results not typical” and endorsements?

Answer:

Earlier this year, The Federal Trade Commission set forth new guidelines for the use of testimonials and advertising that apply to many areas including healthcare.  In the past, The Federal Trade Commission has taken action against certain weight loss products when these products were advertised by an individual claiming extreme weight loss.  The FTC’s position was that it is a deceptive trade practice to show an individual has lost 100 lbs. when this result is not at all representative of a typical patient’s outcome.  In this situation, the term “results not typical,” would need to be used.  Under the new regulations, we should expect that the FTC will take a similar approach.  My discussions with FTC officials have led me to believe that the Commission acknowledges that health care results vary.  The Commission’s goal is to see that potential consumers are not misled by advertising.  It is not advisable to select a statistical outlier to be representative and then try to protect it by adding the term” results may vary.”  Under the new FTC rules, you must also disclose the fact if an individual has received compensation (of any amount) or discounted services in exchange for providing a testimonial or endorsement. 

Mr. Sacopulos is a practicing attorney in Indiana.  This article reflects his opinions and perspectives on advertising and legal issues set forth in this article. 

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Your Medical Spa & Laser Clinic Advertising Sucks

I hate to tell you this, but your advertising sucks.

That's alright. Your competitors advertising sucks too.

In the last ten years that I've been around medical spas, laser clincs, dermatologist practices and plastic surgery centers, I've seen a lot of sucky advertising.

In the kingdom of the blinid, the one-eyed man is king. It's more than just a little appropriate if you apply it to the marketing and advertisng of cosmetic practices. After all, the're generally small businesses in which the owner is in there working all day making the payments. It's no wonder that with; no training, no resources, no access, and no working knowlegde of how to really market and advertise... the typical medspa or plastic surgeon relies mostly on the 'vendors' to try to get some littel bit of name recognition.

And the vendors love to help you (if you're producing for them) by giving you a hundred brochures or postcards that tout 'their' product.

And docs are tripping all over themselves to try to get this stuff.

So, we're going to be doing something about that. We're going to to offer some actual advertising and marketing umph that a few of the smarter docs on the site will be able to take advantage of.

We're going to be launching a marketing and advertising portal for plastic surgeons, dermatologists, medical spa and laser clinics.

We've been working on it for the last six months already.

It's still about a month away but I've been pretty excited about it and thought it about time to show a little leg.

This new portal will be designed specifically around providing the highest quality marketing and advertising for cosmetic medical practices. The idea will be to provide entire, integrated campaigns that will give you the ability to have the same look and feel across your entire presence; business cards, postcards, brochures, flyers, posters, emails... all of it.

Sure, there might be another clinic somewhere that's using the same theme, but what will you care? You'll be paying pennies on the dollar for what you'd pay to have this work done exclusively for you and you'll be able to look a lot bigger than you are.

I may be jumping the gun just a little in this but, damn, I've seen the stuff and it rocks!

Oh, and by the way, this stuff wasn't put together by some teenagers or housewives with photoshop. We've scored some fantastic talent, from art directors to writers who have worked on huge accounts.

So, there are a few things left to do, but it's all coming together. Stay tuned.

Groupon & Medical Spa Offers

Groupon is gaining traction in a number of cities and doing a fair amount of business if their testimonials are a real indication of what's going on.

I received an offer last week from one of the local medical spas in the area for 50% off of some general day spa treatments (facials and massage).

I can see that you might generate some real traffic by offering high demand services like laser hair removal, but they might end up loosing you money since Groupon also takes half of all sales generated by the offer.

Is ayone having real luck generating traffic with services like groupon? Has anyone tried it?

Medical Spa MD: PPC Advertising Webinar Thurs May 6th

Free Advertising & Marketing Webinar For Medical Spas & Dermatologists

Let’s face it, a decade ago all you had to do is open the doors, put an ad in the Yellow Book or local newspaper and business would find you.

Fast forward to 2010. The world has gone Digital. Consumers spend more time on the Internet consuming media than anywhere else combined. We actually spend more of our days and nights on the Web then sleeping in our own beds. Facebook has replaced spending hours on the phone updating your friends on where you have gone, where you are going or what you ate for dinner. If they were a country, they would be the 3rd largest in the world and for a brief moment last month they passed Google in visitors to their site. Life continues to digitize and your success will continue to be shaped by how well you interact in the digital “space” online.

It’s a lot of work, it’s complicated and I don’t understand it. Those are 3 things I hear from clients all the time. Want to know the answer? YOU DON’T HAVE TO! You should have an understanding of it all but you don’t have to be THAT EXPERT to benefit from the wave of business that has shifted onto the Internet.

You simply have to target the right client, in the right area and at the right time to get your message in front of them at a time when they need your service the most. And you need to partner with the right person that understands it all and can be your guide through this ever-growing maze that is Search Engine Marketing.

Video Testimonial

Medical Spa MD: New Partners & Services in 2010.

We've had some significant growth over the last while and that's enabled (and motiviated) us to look at how we can provide the most opportunity to our physician community.

We're currently buiding out relationships and adding additional offerings that include: strategic partnerships with other content providers, SEO +SEM, marketing & advertising outsourcing, training products, IPL & cosmetic laser classifieds, additional medspa MD guest post authors and more. The power behind this is the strength of our independant physician community aggregated in one place. Because we have so many physicians, we can harness the buying power of the entire group and businesses can provide pricing and services that they just can't afford when selling individually.

I'll be posting on these individually but here's an overview of some of the partnerships and additional services in the works.

Medical Spa MD Select Partners

We have a number of relationships with other cosmetic medical resources that we're working that include websites, magazines, and other vendors that meet our criteria for inclusion as a Medical Spa MD Partner. What's the criteria to be a Select Partner?

Medspa MDs Select Partners must offer significant value exclusivley to Medical Spa MD Members as a group and provide fantastic service and responsiveness to Members.

If you're a business you can apply to become a Medical Spa Select Partner here.

A New Site For Medical Marketing & Outsourcing

This new site will be all about outsourcing for cosmetic medical practices. Outsource your marketing, your advertising, your SEM (Search Engine Marketing), article writing, direct mail and postcards... all that stuff.

• Outsourcing
• SEO & SEM: Directoy submissions, local search, backlinking.
• Marketing & Advertising
• Article Writing & Submission
• Direct Mail: Postcards & Mailers

You'll be able to get whatever you need oursourced at a fraction of the time and expense that you'd be expending to source and and manage it. We'll probably start out fairly small and focus on a couple of services that we can already deliver exceptionally well and use ourselves.

Medical Spa Writers + Guest Posts

One of the easiest ways for you to get some exposure for your practice or company is simply to write a guest post here on Medspa MD. We're actively looking for physicians and providers who can offer real value to our community. You'll recieve a valuable link to your practice or business and some welcom traffic.

Submit a guest post onMedical Spa MD.

Medical Spa Products

The Advanced IPL & Laser Training Manual and Advanced Medical Spa Aesthetics Training Manual & Study Course are fantastic resources to train and educate your existing staff, and new hires. Paula's done an absolutely amazing job of getting everything your staff needs in one place. I only wish I had this way back when. If you'r training process consists of having new hires follow you around... your life just got a lot easier.

Used IPL & Laser Classified Ads

Looking to sell your cosmetic laser or IPL? Looking to get a killer deal on one? Medical Spa MDs classified listings are where you'll want to start. (It's anticdotal but I think we've passed the $1m mark.)

Teeth Whitening

We were approched by a company providing custom teeth whitening services for companies and organizations as fund-raisers and asked if we'd allow them to sell whosale teeth whitening kits, pens and services to our Members. We've tentatively said yes and are trying out their services ourselves to see what we think.

These are exacly the same services that dentists offer and include taking impressions, making custom whitening trays and delivering them back to the clinic. Clinics would buy these wholesale. The markup would be in the 100%-300% range I'm guessing.

This could be a fantasic add-on since the #1 cosmetic service that people want is actually teeth whitening.

Laser Repair, Parts, & Service

Another interesting deal that I'm not at liberty to discuss quite yet but we're looking to take on some reilable partners to provide IPL & laser repair services for Members. If you've every had an IPL hand peice rebuilt by the manufacturer you'll know what I mean here. (Of course we'd love to have good technology providers as a partner too.)

Anyway, that's just a few of the directions we're moving in. I'll update this post as we get some of these services up and running. If you want to make sure you're aware of your options and our Partners offerings, make sure you're a Medical Spa MD Member.

Do it yourself Botox: Are these people for real?

Wow. For whatever reason there's a lot of traffic on the do it yourself Botox thread: Fake Botox or not, Discount Medspa is going to jail.

Evidently there are a lot of Botox self injectors flocking to this site to comment on the story of the woman who was selling some form of Botox replacement online, and then publishing videos about how to inject yourself.

Certainly illegal, the site, Discount Medspa has been shut down. My guess is that there are a host of legal troubles ahead for the owner.

You'd think that people would be a little smarter than to inject themselves with Botox or anlything else they just bought online, but I can't tell what's going on with comments like this:

Excuse me Mr.RealMD you are getting the same stuff we are in a bottle that is sealed in a pure form un constituted. Could you PLEASE tell me how do you really honestly know what you’re injecting into your patient besides reading the Botox label across the bottle? You didn't package the bottles you received! and I am more than sure you didn’t have anything to do with the making of the batches of Botox either. All you did was received your order, took it out the boxes and stored it in your freezer upon delivery of your shipment and used it when it was time to inject your patients.

The injection part of receiving Botox IS very important and for you to have the nerve to say I quote “You guys don't really understand the issues involved with the actual preparation of the toxin before it is placed in the bottle. You are focusing on injection technique and the fact that you want to save some money and you think doctors make money off of you. You don't really understand that if this preparation is not authentic Botox or authentic Dysport you are risking your lives. “

Matter of fact Mr. RealMD we are!!! Focusing on the injection technique do you think were crazy do you know if you don’t focus on the injection technique that we could really damage ourselves and probably end up looking like some paralyzed freaks walking around, and you ARE risking your life if you dont know how to properly inject the Botox also so please dont play down that aspect of the procedure.. And I don’t understands you when you say authentic how do YOU know your trusting source is authentic I get the same effect as when you give it to me, so how do you know if the effects are the same the wrinkles are gone and the face muscle are numb for a 3-4 month period.

So I ask you again if the effects and the outcome of the Botox injections are the same how can YOU know that your (BOTOX) is the real thing and I am taking a chance with my Botox. To be honest we all including yourself is taking a chance we really do not know what this is doing in the long run, but our quest for the fountain of youth is keeping us on this same road ,the road of trying to keep our youth as long as we can and as safe as we can accomplish it, and that is including myself.

Dee Medspa is number one

Laurie the psycho just emailed me saying she is opening back up fr business and just taking time off for the Holidays. LOL,like we don't know why. She must be nuts thinking we don't know what happened. She must want to go to prison that bad. I'm sticking with mybasicsonline.net. It's cheaper and better from what I can tell.

here is what her email says.....

In a message dated 12/2/2009 3:33:32 P.M. Central Standard Time, discountmedspa@charter.net writes:

We at Discount Medspa have been working to make sure we are here for you for years to come! Please be patient and we will contact you with our new details soon!

There has been lots of media attention to our site and we will be taking some time off to ejoy the Holidays and Relocate. I appreciate all of you and your support during this difficult time, and promise to be available in the near future!

Dana

I’ve been a “self-injector “ for almost 3 years. I inject small amounts of filler frequently and thus have gained practical experience regarding my own face. I studied injection techniques for almost a year before I self-injected – I did not just jump into this, and I hope nobody else does too. My study resources came mostly from physician to physician professional videos, books and even my own injection doctor (past tense) from whom I asked questions and requested a mirror.

I stopped going to my supposedly “expert” filler doc because; 1) the outrageous fees he charged , 2) he didn’t seem to care about his patients at all – it really was about the money – he always charged me extra supposedly for time spent addressing my concerns -- so please don’t tell us docs actually care about us, 3) even though his credentials were impeccable, he is a “doc to doc injection teacher”, he left me very bruised and swollen almost every visit – something I have never done to myself. Thus I started ordering injectables off the Net and Laurie’s site was one of them.

I enjoyed the convenience, great prices, fabulous customer service, and knowing she and others had tried and tested her products (it would have been all over the news/net had someone been seriously harmed /disfigured from her products). Yes, I was very cautious and did a good deal of research regarding her company, her client results/feedback, products and her background before entering my first order.

While I was pleased with the products purchased from Laurie, I was troubled by her aggressive marketing of such and considered her business practice to be very deceptive (and I believe one of her charges are related to just that). This is where my concern with her company lied.

It irked me to see her market generic Chinese HAs as Sculptra (not even close), Restylane, and Juvederm. It also disturbed me to no end to see her market the permanent Chinese filler Amazingel as Artefill -- to even offer a permanent filler to potential first- timers is beyond belief crazy and extremely disturbing.

Yes, I will continue to self-inject, as most others will, as long as doctors remain money hungry and uncaring. But I close this with: buyer beware, do your homework/research (intensely), study anatomy/injection technique, buy pro videos, don’t let anyone tell you “anybody can do it, even a child”, research your product and don’t assume it’s what the seller is telling you it is.

It’s not as hard as the docs make it out to be, but don’t assume anything.

salome

Is this actually possible?

Plastic Surgery Product Placement

Be Born Again

To promote Dr. Kim's plastic surgery office, this life scale poster was placed at the entrance of his office and by the elevator in the main lobby of the hospital building.

via dfckr.com

A slick little promo for a plastic surgery practice. You have to love well done attention-getting advertising and medical spas and plastic surgery clinics are certainly rife with products that lend themselves to great advertising and marketing. I've got perhaps hundreds of these types of ads that I keep as something of a library.

Medical Spa MD Advertising

A quick answer to a question I received via email.

Hey jeff, I have a question for you. The ads that appear on the right side of MedicalSpaMD in the "Ads by Google" space, did you subscribe to Ad Sense to get them there? Are they Google Ad Words ads, or are they from a PPC company like Yodle or Reach Local?

We have a number of advertisers on Medical Spa MD, some of whom use Google and others who want specific placement and visibility who place their medical spa ads directly.

These direct ppc ads are used for a couple of purposes; to pay our hosting and bandwidth costs so we don't have to charge readers, and to pay the fees for other services we use to communicate with Members and fulfill orders. On the other end the advertisers gain access to more than a million and a half page views from a pretty select member community. It seems to be working out pretty well since we're getting an increasing number of businesses who want to become a Medical Spa MD Partner.