The Tennessee Society For Laser Medicine and Surgery (TSLMS) is comprised of members. Many of these members reside and practice in the state of Tennessee, while many others hail from other parts of the country – and even internationally. Dermatologist, plastic surgeons, oculoplastic surgeons, as well as aesthetic physicians, and aestheticians make up our community. Each and every person that is affiliated with TSLMS has a couple things in common. The first is that we are all in the business of helping people look their personal best. The second is that we all rely on instruments, drugs, and other things made by other companies. We rely on them to give us the tools that we need to do our jobs and end up building relationships with certain brands.

As doctors, our trust in brands leads to patient purchases. As a medical society, trusting a brand leads doctors to look to that brand to fill their needs. We understand that this can be an area rife with potential ethics issues, so we want to be very careful in our disclaimer. Just because we trust, and partner with a brand, does not mean that we are telling you that you should use that brand in your practice. We are just saying that we feel comfortable associating with it.

We are taking a play out of the book that was written for libraries that decide to take on sponsors. They are advised:

Even if your library doesn’t endorse a product, it might still be associated with it. If you can’t stomach a business’s products or practices, then don’t work with them. You don’t have to accept every buyer. Just be sure you have a standardized procedure for reviewing and accepting vendors so you aren’t accused of discrimination of any kind. (Source).

What Makes a Trustworthy Brand

Healthcare Communication News actually wrote a piece that is very relevant to this just over a year ago. In it they describe how brands of practices and hospitals can work to build the trust of the doctors working in their systems. They note the following:

People are more loyal to a brand when they believe there are shared values, mission and vision. They understand where the organization is today, where it’s headed and how people might work together to reach the collective vision… Consumers must be the center. Focus on doing what is best for the patient at all points. Move beyond “clinical care” and meet your patients wherever they are. As health care intersects with retail, we see consumer-based business models and retail’s best practices take root. The consumer-oriented perspective that guides Amazon now applies to you, because patient expectations are changing as well…

Building long-term physician loyalty requires time. It’s not created through a postcard and a few meetings. It’s built on an organizational attitude and commitment. Brand loyalty comes from listening, trust and the fulfilment of promises you make. Trust comes when doctors believe that their health system is as committed to their patients as they are.

The same can be applied back toward the devices, tools, and pharmaceuticals that we use in our practices. As a doctor that brand builds trust with you.

The Brands TMSLS Trusts

It should come as no surprise to any savvy individual reading this piece that the brands we trust are the ones we let into our world. Those brands names and logos are allowed on our assets (social media, website, and even this blog, as well as space at our annual meeting and conference SCALE 2019 Music City). As you might have guessed, most of those brands are on our sponsor list for the conference. Yes, they pay for that privilege, but they also have to pass muster with us. We have to trust the company to partner with them. And they have to trust us to invest their time and money in our organization, and ultimately all of you.

We encourage you to do your own research on these brands, but also to explore whether they would make a good partner for you or your practice. Some of these companies may be familiar to you by name, others not as much. Some may have products with brands that are more familiar to you. So who are these companies and what are their brands?

The SCALE 2019 Sponsors

The following are some of the companies that we partner with. We trust them and the brands they carry. They are listed in the order they appear on our page.

• Allergan
• Galderma
• Aclaris Therapeutics
• BTL
• Lilly
• Merz Aesthetics
• Ortho Dermatologics
• Solta Medical
• Abbvie
• Aerolase
• CeraVe
• Crystal Clear
• Cutanea
• Cynosure
• Deffenage Skincare
• Janssen
• La Roche-Posay
• Skin Ceuticals
• Altius Healthcare
• Celgene
• Clarisonic
• Fotona
• Mtf Biologics
• Nutrafol
• Rohrer Aesthetics

Please note this is a condensed list. That said, each and every one of these companies provide an invaluable service to us. We hope they do to you as well.