Customer Reviews on Ulta have been WAY more helpful than my Dermatologist
In the 6th grade, my nail started splitting after a basketball accident and as the years went by, it started splitting deeper, longer, and wider, but I didn't really feel anything until recently. In 2018, it progressed to the point where I couldn't ignore it - my nail felt exposed and it was painful when half of my nail would get caught on objects while I was doing everyday tasks, further deepening the crack in my nail.
After years of talking to primary care doctors, eating hair/nail supplements, and trying Sally Hansen nail strengtheners, this summer, I finally caved and saw a dermatologist - the dermatologist was friendly and professional, but not helpful. After listening to my long story about how the split in my nail has progressed over the past eleven years, the most hopeful thing he had to offer was that he could refer me to another Dermatologist who is a Nail Specialist based in Milwaukee. He forewarned me that the Nail Specialist probably couldn't heal it because the crack is coming from the base of my nail. To take out the crack, the Nail Specialist would most likely need to take out my entire nail and regrow the nail. How is it that I find myself paying $144 after health insurance to spend three hours of my day (driving/parking included) to see a specialist who tells me to go see a more specialized specialist who will, in all likelihood, remove my entire fingernail? On the other hand, who am I, someone with no medical training, to discredit his advice? He obviously went through over a decade of training, with college + med school + residency/ internships/ fellowships/ etc.
The idea of having my entire nail removed and having to make multiple trips to Wisconsin was just too much. I decided to comb the internet. Eventually, I decided to try this $36 nail oil that had good reviews on Ulta. Worst case scenario, I spent $36 trying this product and I still need to see the Nail Specialist in Milwaukee. I never pay for manicures or pedicures, so $36 seems like a lot - like the most I have ever spent on nails. I would have never paid that much for a nail treatment with ingredients I can't pronounce if I didn't think it was the last resort.
Though my nail isn't completely healed, the transformation over the last 5 weeks has been amazing. I never thought I would see the white colored split down the middle of my nail plate go away. Best of all, my nail doesn't bother me anymore while I do everyday tasks.
I believe that doctors are very useful in many situations, but like many other specialized professionals, they also need to find ways to stay competitive over internet sources. Not everything on the internet is factual or helpful, but, if you know where to look, it's really useful, especially for how accessible it is. At this point, why would I go see the specialist in Milwaukee if advice from Ulta reviews has solved my problem? Examples in other industries include how some travel bloggers have more influence than a lot of travel agents. You see the same trend with bloggers in beauty and fitness and basically every hobby. Some fitness instructors with strong social media presence sell their own protein powder, workout tools, etc. and established makers of such items with established channels at stores nationwide need to compete with independent makers on the internet.
Specialists across industries need to rethink their business model, how they add value to the consumer given the availability of internet resources, and how to get consumers to trust them. In my opinion and in my particular case "doctors who refer me to a specialist who refer me to a more specialized specialist" is a terrible business model because they charge a lot and they still can't guarantee that they can fix my problem. Furthermore, I trusted my primary care doctors who referred me to a dermatologist. Since the dermatologist in Indiana was not that helpful, why would I trust that the dermatologist in Wisconsin would be helpful? My particular medical problem isn't life threatening, so I was pretty open to trying things on the internet. Furthermore, I know that doctors make money when they see patients. Although their aim is to make us healthy, even with the best intentions, the system is such that doctors get paid because sick people exist, so why should I trust them? Why didn't any medical professional I talked to suggest the internet, Sephora, Ulta, or some alternative medicine practice that involves exotic plants or something? Are they unaware of alternative methods or do they not want to get sued for suggesting an alternative solution in case it doesn't work or what?
I think doctors, along with other specialized professions, are still a very necessary part of our society and the best place to go for certain situations. If I was battling sarcoma, an uncommon and often misdiagnosed form of cancer, I wouldn't just let internet blogs tell me what to do. I would jump through the hoops of specialist and specialist to get further clarity from a certified medical professional. (Side note: I once shadowed an oncologist specialized in sarcoma and it was fascinating to hear the level of detail and thought in his questions towards his patients because so much of sarcoma can be confused with other sources of pain).
I don't believe that the internet can replace doctors or dermatologists, but I would encourage everyone to strongly consider not only how the resources available on the world wide web could replace some services you currently pay a lot more for, but also how those same resources may (in the future) compete for the same clients that you serve. This is a scary thought to consider, but it's an important reality to remaining competitive in this age where there are a plethora of channels to fill many of the consumers' needs.
After years of talking to primary care doctors, eating hair/nail supplements, and trying Sally Hansen nail strengtheners, this summer, I finally caved and saw a dermatologist - the dermatologist was friendly and professional, but not helpful. After listening to my long story about how the split in my nail has progressed over the past eleven years, the most hopeful thing he had to offer was that he could refer me to another Dermatologist who is a Nail Specialist based in Milwaukee. He forewarned me that the Nail Specialist probably couldn't heal it because the crack is coming from the base of my nail. To take out the crack, the Nail Specialist would most likely need to take out my entire nail and regrow the nail. How is it that I find myself paying $144 after health insurance to spend three hours of my day (driving/parking included) to see a specialist who tells me to go see a more specialized specialist who will, in all likelihood, remove my entire fingernail? On the other hand, who am I, someone with no medical training, to discredit his advice? He obviously went through over a decade of training, with college + med school + residency/ internships/ fellowships/ etc.
The idea of having my entire nail removed and having to make multiple trips to Wisconsin was just too much. I decided to comb the internet. Eventually, I decided to try this $36 nail oil that had good reviews on Ulta. Worst case scenario, I spent $36 trying this product and I still need to see the Nail Specialist in Milwaukee. I never pay for manicures or pedicures, so $36 seems like a lot - like the most I have ever spent on nails. I would have never paid that much for a nail treatment with ingredients I can't pronounce if I didn't think it was the last resort.
Though my nail isn't completely healed, the transformation over the last 5 weeks has been amazing. I never thought I would see the white colored split down the middle of my nail plate go away. Best of all, my nail doesn't bother me anymore while I do everyday tasks.
I believe that doctors are very useful in many situations, but like many other specialized professionals, they also need to find ways to stay competitive over internet sources. Not everything on the internet is factual or helpful, but, if you know where to look, it's really useful, especially for how accessible it is. At this point, why would I go see the specialist in Milwaukee if advice from Ulta reviews has solved my problem? Examples in other industries include how some travel bloggers have more influence than a lot of travel agents. You see the same trend with bloggers in beauty and fitness and basically every hobby. Some fitness instructors with strong social media presence sell their own protein powder, workout tools, etc. and established makers of such items with established channels at stores nationwide need to compete with independent makers on the internet.
Specialists across industries need to rethink their business model, how they add value to the consumer given the availability of internet resources, and how to get consumers to trust them. In my opinion and in my particular case "doctors who refer me to a specialist who refer me to a more specialized specialist" is a terrible business model because they charge a lot and they still can't guarantee that they can fix my problem. Furthermore, I trusted my primary care doctors who referred me to a dermatologist. Since the dermatologist in Indiana was not that helpful, why would I trust that the dermatologist in Wisconsin would be helpful? My particular medical problem isn't life threatening, so I was pretty open to trying things on the internet. Furthermore, I know that doctors make money when they see patients. Although their aim is to make us healthy, even with the best intentions, the system is such that doctors get paid because sick people exist, so why should I trust them? Why didn't any medical professional I talked to suggest the internet, Sephora, Ulta, or some alternative medicine practice that involves exotic plants or something? Are they unaware of alternative methods or do they not want to get sued for suggesting an alternative solution in case it doesn't work or what?
I think doctors, along with other specialized professions, are still a very necessary part of our society and the best place to go for certain situations. If I was battling sarcoma, an uncommon and often misdiagnosed form of cancer, I wouldn't just let internet blogs tell me what to do. I would jump through the hoops of specialist and specialist to get further clarity from a certified medical professional. (Side note: I once shadowed an oncologist specialized in sarcoma and it was fascinating to hear the level of detail and thought in his questions towards his patients because so much of sarcoma can be confused with other sources of pain).
I don't believe that the internet can replace doctors or dermatologists, but I would encourage everyone to strongly consider not only how the resources available on the world wide web could replace some services you currently pay a lot more for, but also how those same resources may (in the future) compete for the same clients that you serve. This is a scary thought to consider, but it's an important reality to remaining competitive in this age where there are a plethora of channels to fill many of the consumers' needs.
While writing this blog post, I saw that the price of my nail oil is now $20, not $36 like when I bought it, so I think I'll go buy more tomorrow. I hope you enjoyed this post. Let me know your thoughts, insights, or questions below.
This was a thoughtful article, Annie. I enjoyed reading it!
ReplyDeleteHere's what I can say, having been a pharmacy student not too long ago. I think you illustrated vividly the tension between what I'll call "mainstream medicine" vs. "alternative medicine". Let's just limit these definitions to the USA. "Mainstream" would be what's taught in medical school and other healthcare programs in the USA, whereas "alternative" is everything else. What makes mainstream mainstream? We can say "scientific research", but that's not the whole story.
After scientists discover a new potential drug or a new way to diagnose a disease, they conduct experiments (clinical trials) and publish the results. Eventually, the publications may make their way to authorities like the FDA or medical associations. The authorities would then decide if this new molecule should be officially approved as a drug in the USA, or if this new diagnostic method should be recommended to all dermatologists in the USA.
As you can imagine, this is a rigorous process that weeds out many potential treatments and only selects a few of the best. But I'm sure you also noticed that it's not a democratic process. Instead, the authorities have the say. That's where bias is unavoidable.
When I was in pharmacy school, 80% of our time was spent learning "mainstream" treatments. But we were also taught two things: (1) How to evaluate scientific literature -- not to trust everything the "mainstream voice" says but to critically read publications and make informed judgments (2) How to establish common ground with patients when it comes to health beliefs -- to realize that everybody has a unique belief in what's healthy and what's not, whether an Rx pill or an OTC ointment or an herb is the most effective treatment for back pain. We're taught to inform the patient of the knowledge we learned in school and what we think is best for their health, but to be open to hearing their thoughts and suggestions.
I definitely didn't do this perfectly on pharmacy rotations. I was prone to think "I'm right, you're wrong", when I should have thought, "I recommend this mainstream treatment because I know more about its safety and efficacy, but I shouldn't judge the treatments you believe in until I've taken time to research and learn about it". Many patients take time to learn about treatments on their own -- your story was the perfect example. For this reason, I think it is crucial for healthcare providers and patients to honestly discuss with each other, so that the treatment decision is not based on one-way but two-way communication.
I thought it was interesting that you spoke of the healthcare system in terms of a business adding value for consumers. That's a perspective that I hadn't considered. I'm accustomed to thinking "somebody else can run the business so we pharmacists can focus on getting the right meds to the right patients", but I realize a hospital or a clinic is as much a business as it is a service organization. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the business model, like you said, to see if it is adequately serving its purpose.
Wow that was really long. Thoughts? Looking forward to more articles and videos on your blog! Hope you never stop creating the cool things you create :)