JOYA Health, a corporate skin health benefit provider, has announced a new integration with Aesthetic Record, an electronic medical record (EMR) and practice management platform used by over 9,000 aesthetic clinics. The collaboration allows clinics to redeem JOYA Health membership benefits directly at point of sale (POS) within Aesthetic Record’s system.

Operational and Financial Integration

The integration supports real-time patient benefit redemptions and tracks financial data, aiming to improve practice efficiency and patient experience. Clinics using both platforms can now eliminate manual processes and gain a consolidated view of patient interactions and revenue.

Patient Access and Acquisition

JOYA Health functions as an employer-sponsored benefit, offering services such as skin cancer screenings, acne and anti-aging treatments, and hair loss care. With this integration, JOYA members can access participating clinics more easily and receive personalized treatment plans at reduced out-of-pocket costs.

Industry Perspective

JOYA Health’s VP of Product, Ian Metz, described the integration as a step toward improving both operational efficiency and patient experience. Tiphany Hall, Chief Growth Officer at Aesthetic Record, noted that the partnership also serves to credential providers within JOYA’s network, potentially enhancing lead generation for participating clinics.

Getting Started

• Existing Users: Aesthetic Record clinics already partnered with JOYA can activate the integration via the AR Wallet for immediate access to benefit redemptions and financial tracking.
• New Clinics: Aesthetic Record users not yet on JOYA’s network are invited to join and secure regional access.

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Clarius Mobile Health, which offers an AI-powered handheld ultrasound, announced the launch of a new artificial intelligence (AI) education tool that helps new users quickly master ultrasound breast anatomy while scanning with Clarius ultrasound.

Accelerating Learning for Plastic Surgeons

According to the company, the latest of five AI-training modes invented by Clarius, T-Mode for breast helps plastic surgeons recognize key breast tissue layers in real time to accelerate learning and improve confidence in performing in-clinic ultrasound-guided procedures and exams.

Demonstration at The Aesthetics Meeting 2025

Clarius will demonstrate T-Mode for breast at The Aesthetics Meeting in Austin, Tex from March 20 to 23, 2025.

Addressing the Shortage of Skilled Sonographers

Clarius reportedly developed the training tool to help address the growing demand for clinicians skilled in conducting breast exams. While the FDA recommends that breast implant patients undergo ultrasound breast exams every 2 to 3 years, the shortage of skilled sonographers has created long wait times for patients. Many plastic surgeons are using ultrasound in their practice and seek training to increase their proficiency with reading grey scale images, which are notoriously difficult to interpret for new users.

Expert Insights on Clarius T-Mode

Marc Salzman, MD, a double board-certified plastic surgeon and ultrasound educator who published a paper on the benefits of using ultrasound for breast implant surveillance, helped test the new feature during its development and said, “Clarius T-Mode for breast is very helpful in teaching breast ultrasound and will help novice physicians adopt ultrasound. It shortens the learning curve for recognizing the different layers of tissue, the capsule, and the implant itself.”

How T-Mode Enhances Ultrasound Training

When activated during an exam with a Clarius ultrasound scanner, T-Mode creates an adjacent image with distinctive graphics and text labels that help new ultrasound users instantly identify anatomical structures. T-Mode is also available for Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) procedures, facial aesthetics, and musculoskeletal applications.

Clarius’ Commitment to Innovation in Plastic Surgery

“Clarius continues to raise the bar with T-Mode for breast imaging,” says Pat Pazmiño, MD, FACS, a plastic surgeon who practices in Miami. “The use of artificial intelligence to help identify tissue planes helps to shorten the learning curve so that clinicians can focus on the patient.”

According to Clarius, Pazmiño, a long-time Clarius user and advocate for ultrasound use by plastic surgeons, was instrumental in advocating for the first plastic surgery law that has been passed in Florida. In effect on July 1, 2023, the bill mandates the use of ultrasound guidance during gluteal fat grafting procedures to protect patient safety. Pazmiño also supported the development of T-Mode for Gluteal Grafting.

High-Resolution Imaging at a Fraction of the Cost

Clarius offers a range of purpose-built specialty handheld wireless ultrasound scanners designed to provide high-definition imaging for multiple clinical applications. These devices are designed to deliver high-resolution imaging equivalent to the best traditional cart-based systems for a small fraction of the cost using an app for iOS and Android smart devices, according to the company.

Availability of Clarius T-Mode

Clarius T-Mode is available with Clarius Membership and the new One-Time License along with specialized presets, unlimited cloud storage, Voice Controls, and other features designed for plastic surgery.

Photo: Clarius

Researchers at UCLA Health, conducting a new analysis, found that psychological prehabilitation can significantly enhance recovery after surgery.

Study Overview and Methodology

The research, led by Anne E. Hall, BS, in the lab of Justine Lee, MD, PhD, FACS, analyzed data from 20 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) conducted between 2004 and 2024, involving a total of 2,376 patients. It is published in the Annals of Surgery.

Expanding the Scope of Prehabilitation

Prehabilitation is a proactive approach aimed at improving surgical outcomes through preventive measures. Traditionally, it has focused on physical function and patient education. However, mental health has recently gained attention due to its crucial role in postoperative recovery, including reducing persistent opioid use.

Data Sources and Intervention Types

The researchers conducted a systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression of RCTs retrieved from databases such as MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, and Google Scholar. They included studies with more than 50 adult surgical patients and evaluated the effects of different preoperative psychotherapy-based interventions, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), supportive psychotherapy, and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), on postoperative outcomes.

Key Findings on Postoperative Outcomes

The study found that psychological prehabilitation significantly reduces the length of hospital stay, pain, anxiety, and depression after surgery. Specifically, the analysis showed:

• A reduction in length of hospital stay (LOS) by an average of 1.62 days;
• A decrease in pain by an average of 3.52 points;
• Lower anxiety levels regardless of which validated anxiety scale was used;
• Reduced depression levels regardless of which validated depression scale was used.

Implications and Future Research

The type of psychotherapy and the kind of surgery did not significantly affect the outcomes, except for anxiety, according to the findings.

The researchers suggest that incorporating psychological prehabilitation into pre-surgery routines could lead to better overall recovery for patients. This approach may also help reduce healthcare costs associated with prolonged hospital stays and postoperative complications.

The study’s authors say their findings highlight the need for further research to compare different types, durations, and delivery methods of psychotherapy to determine the most effective strategies for specific postoperative outcomes.

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Fortress, a surgeon digital marketing agency specializing in SEO strategies, announced its latest service expansion—comprehensive SEO for plastic surgeons. The service is designed to help private practices build a strong online presence through advanced SEO and web development offerings that enhance visibility, drive more consultations, and support long-term practice growth.

Industry Expertise in Healthcare SEO

Founded by Gerrid Smith, digital marketing expert, Fortress reportedly brings over a decade of SEO expertise to the healthcare industry.

Multi-Layered Approach to Digital Marketing

Fortress takes a multi-layered approach to digital marketing, combining SEO with web development strategies.. SEO strategies for plastic surgeons include:

• Targeted keyword optimization to rank for high-intent searches (e.g., “best plastic surgeon near me”)
• Content marketing that highlights expertise, patient success stories, and surgical innovations
• Local SEO strategies to boost visibility in Google Business Profile (GBP) listings and Maps results
• Reputation management to build trust and authority through patient reviews and testimonials

Custom web development offerings for plastic surgeons include:

• High-converting plastic surgery website design optimized for patient engagement
• Fast, mobile-friendly, and SEO-optimized pages that improve search rankings
• Integrated appointment booking and lead capture systems
• ADA-compliant designs for accessibility and compliance

Data-Driven SEO and Patient Engagement

Fortress reportedly uses advanced on-page and off-page SEO, AI-driven analytics, and a deep understanding of patient behavior to ensure that clients see real, measurable results.

Addressing Marketing Challenges for Plastic Surgeons

Surgeons face unique challenges in traditional plastic surgery marketing, from competing with corporate practices to building trust with prospective patients. Fortress says it develops customized digital strategies that elevate surgeons’ online visibility and position them as leading specialists in their field.

Free Consultations for Plastic Surgeons

Fortress offers free consultations to discuss tailored online marketing strategies for their practice.

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Relatient has introduced Dash Direct, an open scheduling API platform designed to help healthcare organizations automate patient interactions within their existing technology systems. The platform reportedly enables appointment booking, rescheduling, and cancellations without staff intervention, integrating with various patient access tools, including virtual agents, appointment reminders, and chatbots.

As the company explains, self-service scheduling adoption is growing, but many routine patient interactions—such as confirming or canceling appointments, updating insurance details, and booking referral visits—still require staff involvement. These processes often rely on call centers, faxes, and other manual workflows, leading to scheduling backlogs and administrative burdens. Dash Direct aims to streamline these tasks by allowing patients to manage appointments independently through digital platforms.

“We hear all the time from our clients that the simplest appointment and administrative tasks collectively take up most of their staff’s time,” said Jeff Gartland, CEO of Relatient. “Dash Direct opens a new toolkit, enabling healthcare organizations to solve that problem through better interoperability across every point of patient access.”

The platform supports multiple digital access points, including:

• Virtual agents: Patients can book, reschedule, and update information without staff assistance.
• AI-enabled chatbots: Scheduling can be integrated into existing chat functions.
• Referral scheduling: Third parties can schedule patients in real time, reducing manual follow-ups.
• Financial clearance: Insurance verification and updates can be automated.
• Virtual care integration: Patients can transition from triage to booked appointments seamlessly.

Marie D’Aiuto, director of patient access at Florida Orthopaedic Institute, said her organization has seen significant improvements since adopting Dash Direct. “By integrating automated scheduling logic into our phone trees, we’ve reduced the workload of three to four full-time staff members—potentially freeing up thousands of hours annually.”

Dash Direct integrates with existing healthcare technology vendors and follows provider scheduling rules to maintain accuracy and efficiency. The platform is available for custom implementations and out-of-the-box deployments.

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TerraCycle, a global provider of sustainability solutions, has introduced ClinicCycle, a national recycling solution designed for healthcare facilities of all sizes, from private practices and dental offices to urgent care centers and specialized medical clinics. The program offers a way to recycle complex waste streams commonly produced in medical environments, including personal protective equipment (PPE), plastic packaging, break room waste, and cleaning supplies.

Addressing Medical Waste Challenges

Each year, the U.S. healthcare sector produces approximately 1.7 million tons of plastic waste, much of which is discarded in landfills or incinerated. ClinicCycle provides a solution, enabling healthcare facilities to responsibly manage hard-to-recycle waste while upholding stringent hygiene and patient care standards.

A Convenient Recycling Option

“Medical waste is a growing challenge, and healthcare professionals need convenient solutions that align with their commitment to care,” said Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of TerraCycle. “ClinicCycle is an easy way to ensure that essential materials from a variety of medical settings are properly recycled.”

ClinicCycle Options

From single-use PPE to plastic packaging and disposable supplies, ClinicCycle offers specialized Zero Waste Boxes to help all types of healthcare facilities responsibly recycle a wide range of waste materials, including disposable gloves, disposable masks, plastic packaging, break room separation, cleaning supplies and accessories, and an all-in-one option.

Collection and Recycling Process

Clinics order the appropriate ClinicCycle Zero Waste Box, place it in areas where waste is generated, and start collecting their hard-to-recycle materials. Once full, the box is sealed and returned to TerraCycle using the prepaid shipping label. The collected waste is then carefully sorted, cleaned, and processed into raw materials that can be used to create new products, ensuring clinic-generated waste is kept in circulation and out of landfills and incinerators.

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Key Takeaways:

• 84% of patients check online reviews before selecting a healthcare provider, and 40% have reconsidered or canceled appointments due to reviews.
• Negative reviews outweigh personal recommendations for 61% of patients, emphasizing the power of online reputation.
• Providers who actively engage with reviews—both positive and negative—can improve patient trust and practice success.

Rater8, a healthcare reputation management company, released a new report highlighting the growing influence of online reviews in patient decision-making. Based on a survey of more than 1,000 patients aged 18 to 60+ from across the United States, the report sheds light on how reviews and other factors shape healthcare choices in 2025.

Patients Check Reviews Before Choosing a Provider

The survey found that 84 percent of patients check online reviews before selecting a healthcare provider, with more than half (51 percent) reading at least six reviews before making a decision. Additionally, 40 percent of patients said that reviews have led them to cancel appointments or reconsider providers. Despite the influence of reviews, 57 percent of patients admitted they do not leave feedback for their providers.

Key Survey Findings on Patient Decision-Making

Other key findings from rater8’s survey include:

• 26 percent of patients are considering changing providers in 2025.
• 61 percent of patients stated that negative reviews would override personal recommendations.
• Primary care providers were identified as the easiest to change (64 percent), compared to specialists like dermatologists (32 percent) and ophthalmologists (22 percent).
• 45 percent of patients said a provider’s response to reviews would influence their choice.
• 26 percent of patients said they are unlikely to leave reviews unless asked by their provider, while 47 percent are most likely to submit a review within one day of their appointment.

The Importance of Provider Engagement with Reviews

“Patients have high standards for care, and they have no qualms about changing providers when their needs aren’t met. We’ve found that physicians and practices being actively involved in soliciting, managing, and engaging with reviews makes a difference,” said Evan Steele, founder and CEO of rater8. “And, while for many everyday things a personal recommendation would still trump online reviews, our survey indicated this is not the case when people are making healthcare decisions.”

How Responding to Reviews Shapes Patient Perceptions

Steele added, “In a landscape where online recommendations are so critical to practice success, driving patients to leave online reviews is just the beginning. Responding to negative reviews helps patients see the full picture from both sides, and responding to positive reviews helps incentivize patients to continue sharing their positive stories about the practice. Providers who are not actively engaging with the reviews they receive are missing an enormous opportunity in the continued evolution of patient expectations and care.”

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Summary:

Allergan Aesthetics is expanding its Allergan Medical Institute (AMI) by opening three new training centers in the US, starting with AMI Orange County in 2025, followed by locations in Atlanta and Austin. These centers aim to provide hands-on clinical education, business development resources, and training on the latest aesthetic innovations for licensed providers. The curriculum, overseen by AMI medical director Saami Khalifian, MD, will include a mix of in-person training, roundtable discussions, national symposia, and an online learning platform. 

Key Takeaways:

1. Expansion of Training Centers – Allergan Aesthetics is launching three new AMI training centers in Irvine, Atlanta, and Austin, providing tailored education for licensed aesthetics providers.
2. Comprehensive Training Programs – The centers will offer hands-on training, business education, and online learning to help providers improve clinical techniques and practice management.
3. Provider Training Initiative – Led by Saami Khalifian, MD, the new centers will offer hands-on education and business training to support aesthetics providers in clinical and practice management skills.

Allergan Aesthetics announced Allergan Medical Institute (AMI) will open three new training centers in the US, expanding access to tailored training to licensed aesthetics providers. 

AMI’s curriculum, designed to accelerate the science and art of aesthetics, paired with the company’s portfolio of products, is designed to empower providers and business owners to deliver desired patient outcomes and experiences.

“The new AMI training centers are designed to help expand and elevate our existing best-in-class training programs,” says Glen Curran, senior vice president, US, Allergan Aesthetics, in a release. “The facilities will offer a range of courses for providers at every stage of learning helping them to safely and effectively deliver excellent outcomes and increase patient satisfaction.”

Hands-On Training to Advance Clinical and Business Expertise

The new AMI training centers, built in key markets, will leverage top innovations in products, clinical education, techniques, and technologies to drive continued growth and progress across the aesthetic market. The offerings are focused on delivering safe and desirable patient outcomes and helping aesthetic practices create lasting business success for themselves through patient acquisition and satisfaction.

The centers will feature AMI faculty trainers offering hands-on curriculum and learning experience for providers and business managers. The AMI training centers, presided over by AMI medical director Saami Khalifian, MD, are designed to enhance the clinical techniques, complications management expertise, and business acumen of participants. 

“I’ve been actively involved in bringing these training centers to life—working closely to develop innovative solutions, refine ideas, and guide these concepts from vision to reality. It’s an honor to offer such a groundbreaking training experience to professionals nationwide,” says Khalifian, double board-certified dermatologist, in a release. “Allergan Aesthetics leads the industry in medical education by continually investing in robust programs that set a new standard for excellence. These centers exemplify that commitment in ways unlike anything providers have seen before. My hope is that every participant leaves feeling empowered, equipped, and inspired to reach their highest potential faster than they ever thought possible.”

Advancing Scientific Knowledge and Skills

Developed in partnership between Allergan Aesthetics and expert healthcare professionals, programming is intended to advance scientific knowledge and technical skills in a variety of formats including hands-on training, roundtable forums, national symposia, live webcast events, exclusive resources, and an online learning program, AMI online. In November 2024, Allergan Aesthetics launched AMI Business Education to the AMI online learning platform to provide free courses to practitioners with business operations education.

The first training center, AMI Orange County, located at Allergan Aesthetics headquarters in Irvine, Calif, is scheduled to open in 2025. Additional locations in Atlanta and Austin to follow.

Photo caption: Allergan Medical Institute plenary rendering

Photo credit: Allergan Aesthetics

Key Takeaways

• Surgeons must balance their ethical duty to provide ongoing care with the complexities of managing patients with psychiatric conditions, which can sometimes lead to difficult or untenable relationships.
• Strategies include continuing surgical care, providing nonsurgical support, or terminating the relationship when necessary, ensuring ethical and legal considerations are met.
• Even in challenging cases, surgeons should strive to fulfill their ethical responsibilities, using structured approaches to maintain patient-centered care whenever possible.

Plastic surgeons sometimes face challenging relationships with patients, especially those with underlying psychiatric issues. An ethical framework to managing untenable surgeon-patient relationships is presented in a special Plastic Surgery Focus article in the February issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

“Particularly when psychiatric conditions are present, plastic surgeons may be tempted to end the surgeon-patient relationship—at the risk of ethical challenges related to patient abandonment,” says ASPS Member Surgeon Christian J. Vercler, MD, of University of Michigan. “We outline some strategies for managing these difficult relationships, including specific steps toward achieving the best possible patient-centered clinical outcomes.”

Psychiatric Issues Pose Ethical Dilemmas in Plastic Surgery

Once an operation has been performed, surgeons have an ethical obligation to care for the patient until treatment is completed. “Nevertheless, there are circumstances that can challenge this patient-surgeon relationship and even justify termination,” the researchers write. Their article was prompted by the difficult case of a patient with a psychiatric diagnosis who underwent plastic surgery to reconstruct a self-inflicted wound, followed by repeated episodes of self-mutilation.

Informed by a review of the literature and application of ethical principles, Vercler and colleagues describe three pathways to managing patients with complex psychiatric conditions:

1. Maintain the relationship and continue surgical treatment. Demanding or hostile patient behaviors may stem from a fear of abandonment. Reinforcing the surgeon’s commitment to providing the best possible care may help to mitigate these fears—and may enable resolution of the patient’s psychiatric issues. If so, and if realistic expectations can be established, it may be possible to proceed with surgical treatment.

2. Maintain the relationship without further surgery. Some patients may reject recommended treatment yet continue to seek care, often related to underlying depression and anxiety. Providing supportive nonsurgical care may help to address the barriers to following recommended treatment—if there is a “reasonable expectation” that the barriers to care are reversible.
3. Terminate the relationship. In severe cases, terminating the patient-surgeon relationship may be the best option, particularly if the surgeon’s involvement seems to contribute to worsening of the patient’s psychiatric condition. In such situations, a “therapeutic discharge”—following established ethical principles and legal requirements to transfer responsibility to another qualified physician—may ensure that the patient receives needed care while breaking a “maladaptive treatment cycle.”

“In writing this article, our main objective was to restate surgeons’ ethical obligation to not abandon their patients postoperatively, even when patient behavior makes is incredibly challenging to do so,” Vercler says. “While the described case illustrates the rare exception in which therapeutic discharge is required, we hope our paper will provide tools to help surgeons fulfill their ethical responsibility, enabling them to stay involved in the patients’ care in an ethical and effective way.”