Have you ever thought of doing popular aesthetic treatments like fillers, fat-freezing body treatments or even LASIK but are unsure of what they entail? With a buffet of aesthetic procedures available in Singapore today, looking for the right information online can be overwhelming and confusing.
It’s absolutely essential to get your information from the right sources. And where better than from the people actually carrying out these aesthetic procedures, namely doctors and medical professionals?
Recently, there has been a rise of medical portals and clinic blogs with content written by the doctors themselves. Two prime examples would be www.ubiqihealth.com and www.healthascent.com, where readers can find articles by doctors detailing aesthetic procedures from start to finish – covering things like price, treatment techniques, downtime and even the side effects.
These websites have quickly become an invaluable source of information for women looking to have aesthetic procedures done. On these portals, women can gain insight on popular procedures like acne scar removal, LASIK or even fat freezing to remove stubborn tummy fat.
Why would doctors spend the effort to publish on such sites?
Good question. Aesthetic doctors are, of course, going to be extremely busy people in general. Why would they go out of their way to write and publish articles on a seemingly non-profit neutral platform? We were just as puzzled as you, so we sought the answer from the co-founders of Healthmark, Singapore’s premier publicity and regulations consultant for clinics, Nate Wang and Alvin Tang.
“Doctors in Singapore are typically restricted from advertising freely due to the PHMC (Ministry of Health’s Private Hospitals and Medical Clinics) act”, says Nate, who is an ex-clinic owner himself.
“No advertising of patient testimonials. Sponsored influencer reviews are illegal. Promotions and discounts are banned. Clinics cannot even compare against other clinics in an attempt to solicit business,” he tells us. “In the face of such strict regulations, article publishing is a great way for them to get their name without getting into trouble with MOH. We always recommend our doctor clients to take this approach and we guide them in terms of what they can reveal and what’s safer to avoid”.
How do you know you can trust these sites?
Healthmark’s rare knowledge in both publicity and regulations has resulted in even a medical portal like Ubiqihealth appointing them to be their consultant. This helps ensure the portal can assist doctor partners in abiding by MOH’s guidelines, and at the same time, gives you greater peace of mind when reading up on cosmetic treatments.
“We realised how the landscape of medical marketing was shifting to adapt itself to the regulations-heavy environment in Singapore,” Healthmark co-founder Alvin Tang tells us. “I think we’re positioned pretty uniquely in this industry and that’s quite beneficial to both doctors and the public who are interested in these treatments.”
Here’s a breakdown of the various popular aesthetic procedures in Singapore and the kind of doctor advice you’ll find on infoportals and doctor’s personal blogs:
Brought to you by Healthmark