6 Ways to Help Improve Patient Satisfaction at Your Plastic Surgery Practice

Cosmetic surgery procedures in the U.S. grew 5% year over year between 2022 and 2023.¹ Still, individual practices do not automatically reap the rewards of society’s ever-increasing interest. Focusing on patient satisfaction in this fiercely competitive industry, however, can help lead to greater success.²

Creating a positive patient experience during every appointment and every procedure can help drive return visits, positive reviews and referrals.² From customization to clear communication and flexible payment options, there are multiple ways to help increase patient satisfaction at your plastic surgery practice.

The journey to happier patients begins by recognizing the plastic surgery experiences, education and results your patients want and then delivering them.³

1. Improve In-Office and Out-of-Office Patient Satisfaction

A recent survey from Bain & Company revealed that 65% of health and wellness consumers surveyed expect a more convenient patient experience, and 70% expect more responsiveness from providers (compared with how they felt three years ago).² That leaves little room for error but plenty of opportunities to improve in-office and out-of-office experiences for every plastic surgery patient and, as a result, help boost patient retention.

• Customize the consultation. The consultation is the first in-person contact for a patient and provider, which means you have a captive audience and can deliver undivided attention, personalized care, cost transparency and minimal wait times.²
• Present an information-rich post-op experience. Patients want to be cared for but also empowered to manage their own health and wellness. Consider ways to deliver at-home care plans to help address minor patient concerns.
• Incentivize future procedures. Convenient and financially reasonable care is often appealing to patients engaged in improving their appearance with plastic surgery procedures. Cosmetic surgery practices have the opportunity to incentivize offerings that support consumers active in the ongoing engagement in their health.³

The patient experience doesn’t have to be complex to be satisfactory. There are obstacles to consistently delivering excellent experiences, from clinical demands to complex workflows, but patient-centric practices that concentrate on patient retention are more likely to outgrow their peers.²

2. Prioritize Good Communication

Patients interested in cosmetic surgery often begin their journey on social media, consuming photos and stories about people who have transformed their appearance through plastic surgery and gathering information that leads to empowerment about their own decisions. An April 2024 study found visitors to Facebook and RealSelf, a plastic surgery-focused platform, had higher awareness of treatment options and increased empowerment than other study respondents.⁴

You know what it requires to cosmetically enhance a face or body so it looks natural, and you have the power to convey this information to patients and potential patients in various ways and multiple locations:

• Communicate the reality of plastic surgery preparation, procedure, recovery and expected results to help patients understand what their plastic surgery experience will entail.¹
• Focus on transparency, so patients learn to trust your evidence-based care, develop realistic expectations and feel better about costs.¹
• Provide readable information that is easy to understand and avoids medical jargon — rhinoplasty vs. nose job, for instance — in favor of more common terminology.⁴

3. Offer Personalized Recommendations

Personalized recommendations include acknowledging patient demographics and goals and delivering on their unique needs and wants. Presenting individualized treatment plans can help instill confidence among patients who want balanced, natural and harmonious results from their cosmetic procedures. When you are aware of what patients want, you can combine your research and knowledge with your in-office procedures to deliver truly personalized recommendations. For instance, between 2022 and 2023:¹

• There was growth (7%) in minimally invasive procedures — even surpassing surgical procedure growth by 2% — including chemical peels, laser hair removal and laser skin resurfacing.
• Patients remained interested in hyaluronic and non-hyaluronic acid fillers as budget-friendly procedures with subtle results and minimal recovery time.
• Neuromodulator injections remained the most sought-after procedures, rising almost 10% in 2023, particularly for the 40 to 54 age group (57%), but also among the 20 to 29 and 30 to 39 age groups (8% increase).
• There was a 5.55% growth in Botox injections among male patients.
• There were increases in eyelid surgery (5%) and nose reshaping (6%).
• Face and neck procedures rose year over year: facelifts (8%), neck lifts (2%), forehead lifts (2%) and chin liposuction (6%).

4. Deliver Easily Consumable Patient Education

You know what’s happening in your industry, and patients are interested in your expert observations about celebrity transformations, innovations in cosmetic surgery and results they might expect from cosmetic changes. Patients are prioritizing their aesthetic health at a growing rate and seek board-certified plastic surgeons to deliver.¹

Your pedigree and plastic surgery experience give you the power to deliver patient education through easily consumable media on your chosen social media platform, on your practice website or through content marketing.⁴

• Share photos and videos. There’s plenty of inspiration to help your practice craft videos about cosmetic enhancement, from a celeb’s latest makeover to a list of top cosmetic and reconstructive procedures. Before-and-after photos can be an impactful accompaniment.⁵
• Offer your opinion. Comment on common aging complaints and procedures that target them, from patients who want to refine their jawline because of overuse of fillers to an increase in body-lift procedures that refine and contour.¹
• Acknowledge reality. Present budget-friendly alternatives to help address patients’ financial concerns or capitalize on the popularity of minimally invasive procedures with clever marketing choices.¹

Thought leadership in content marketing positions you as an expert in your field. Delivering valuable information to patients and potential patients through their inbox or favorite social media app can lead to consultations where you have another opportunity to educate.²

Plastic surgery marketing that shows care, consideration and knowledge remains essential, especially among patients who are attempting to differentiate quality care and truth among paid online ads and an overload of social media messages.³

5. Provide Flexible Payment Options

Data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons indicates that women and men are taking advantage of budget-friendly, minimally invasive treatments.¹ But cosmetic surgery procedures are typically not covered by insurance, leaving many patients to pay the full cost out-of-pocket — a higher burden compared to traditional reimbursed healthcare expenses.⁶ Your practice has the power to deliver treatments with little downtime and immediate results and help improve the patient satisfaction and patient financial experience overall.

Patients express that paying for care is of high importance to them, but it’s also a deeply unsatisfying part of the process. If you can make the payment journey easier, you can make a major impact on patient engagement.³

• Be flexible. Many cosmetic surgery procedures are elective and aspirational and are rarely covered by insurance plans, creating a need for flexible financing options like a health and wellness credit card.
• Offer payment options. While some patients cannot pay up front for their desired procedures, the option to engage with a health and wellness credit card or installment loan may give them the power to make the aesthetic changes they want while paying for treatment over time.
• Empower patients. Financing options can encourage patients to move forward with a treatment plan by making it more affordable. Address this patient concern up front by noting available options on your website, social media platforms and advertisements. Efforts in this direction can help create a less stressful and more positive patient experience.

6. Review and Thoughtfully Address Patient Feedback

Plastic surgery providers can raise the bar to increase patient satisfaction by assessing all patient interactions, addressing areas that do not hold up and providing care when and how customers prefer it.² A solid patient feedback system requires attention and nurturing to glean the information needed to discover what matters most to customers and truly deliver positive experiences.²

• Put patient feedback front and center. Commit to improving the patient experience to uncover pain points and continuously measure satisfaction.
• Act without delay. Read and respond quickly to all patient feedback by escalating problematic issues, so they are addressed immediately.
• Gather insights. Metrics are important, but actionable insights are at the core of patient decision-making, and your practice has the power to direct focus and address concerns during the patient journey.

Through feedback systems, such as cosmetic surgery survey questions and patient satisfaction surveys, for example, you can uncover moments of truth that tell you how patients really feel about receiving ongoing care, resolving a bill, in-person interactions and more.² Listening and acting immediately can help manage unhappy patients who may vocally criticize your practice, and quick action can further satisfy already-happy patients who enthusiastically endorse you online and offline.²

Knowing what your patients think can pay off. According to a recent survey, patients who report a positive experience are nearly seven times less likely to switch providers than those who are dissatisfied.²

Prioritize the Plastic Surgery Patient Journey

It pays to connect with every patient throughout their cosmetic surgery journey so you can support them, talk through problems, salvage negative experiences and connect with those who are eager to share positive experiences. With thoughtful marketing and social media choices, rapt attention and reasonable payment options, you can help make both your patients happy and keep your plastic surgery practice growing and thriving.

A Flexible Financing Solution for Your Cosmetic Practice

Want to make it easy for patients and clients to manage the cost of treatment at your cosmetic practice or business? Consider offering the CareCredit credit card as a financing solution. CareCredit offers individuals a way to pay for surgical and non-surgical treatments and procedures over time while helping enhance the payments process for your practice or business.

When you accept CareCredit, patients or clients can see if they prequalify with no impact to their credit score, and those who apply, if approved, can take advantage of special financing on qualifying purchases.* Additionally, you will be paid directly within two business days.

Learn more about the CareCredit credit card as a financing solution for your cosmetic care practice and business or start the provider enrollment process by filling out this form.

Author Bio

Elizabeth Weiss is a freelance writer and editor with more than 20 years of experience in content development for dentistry, orthodontics and cosmetic dermatology. She focuses on making healthcare topics accessible to readers and contributes to many fields, from family and estate law to industrial services and landscape design.

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