Medspas don’t have to choose between productivity and performance. The best medical spa software platforms help them do both.

Medical spas may look like serene self-care businesses to clients, but the experience is quite different for technicians and practitioners. To them, medspas are finely-tuned machines that provide highly specialized medical services, often with tight, overlapping appointments and complex sales offerings.

The only way to keep these operations running at peak levels is to prioritize efficiency and quality performance — and that’s only possible if you’re using efficient, high-quality tools. For proof, take a closer look at the best medical spa software platforms on the market, which bundle tools like self-booking, automated payment systems, integrated HIPAA compliance, and more. Here are some core features that no successful medspa can do without.

Choosing the best medical spa software

Self-booking

In 2023, clients expect to look up available appointment times from an app or online form. Thankfully, self-booking technology lets them do just that while generating more value from each session.

Self-booking tools offer the client a selection of available times and services based on employee availability. If they choose to make an appointment, the platform automatically syncs it with staff calendars and notifies technicians if it happens to be same-day. If none of the available times work, the platform directs the client to a waiting list.

Automatic self-booking already saves administrative time, but its real superpower is precision scheduling. The best medical spa software optimizes appointment times to avoid gaps in your schedule, accounting for details like equipment reservations, room changes, or transition time. With these variables in the system, technicians and practitioners operate at peak productivity, and can give their full attention to clients without looking for equipment or worrying about someone needing the room in five minutes.

Client management

Medspa patients shouldn’t have to repeat their onboarding process just because they’re working with a new service provider. Instead, staff should be able to access appointment histories and accommodation notes to ensure they have all the information they need to provide the highest quality, personalized service. Medspa platforms support this goal with client management tools that summarize everything the team should know about the patient, including:

• Full contact information for both the patient and emergency contacts

• Custom accommodations, such as special needs, pricing, or allergies

• A centralized notes section that allows staff to upload files, photos, and details about each client

• Medical history, intake forms, and consents

HIPAA compliance

Medspas aren’t just spas, they are medical service providers — which means they are legally required to take every possible precaution with client records. That means it’s not enough to choose a highly-rated software solution. The platform must also comply with a checklist of features outlined by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Medspa software should always account for HIPAA-compliant security measures as part of the default experience:

• Data encryption: All private data stored on local hard drives or off-site services must be encrypted, full stop. This ensures that all patient records are unreadable outside of the medspa platform. If a security breach does occur, all of your compromised files will still be almost impossible to access, providing a high degree of privacy.

• Storage backups: HIPAA-compatible software doesn’t just protect files from hackers and malware — it defends against any disaster that might break the hard drive. The medspa platform must be able to generate regular backups of all patient records so in a worst case scenario, your database can be rebuilt as soon as possible. Just don’t forget to encrypt the backup as well!

• Associate agreements: Medspas can work with any number of partners who access patient records as part of their responsibilities — including the people managing their booking software! To cover your legal bases, they must sign a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement that regulates every interaction with private data.

Marketing tools

Unlike for traditional medical practices, marketing strategies are critical to running your medspa. They are the primary way your brand will continue the conversation with patients after they walk out the door. Marketing is the extension of the medspa experience that builds lasting relationships in between sessions. If you manage these connections, you won’t just win a client’s business — you’ll win their hard-earned trust.

That’s where integrated marketing comes into play. The best software for medical spa businesses comes with an entire marketing suite that automatically keeps in touch with clients. Automated birthday messages, booking reminders, and last-minute opening notifications can all be generated, personalized, and sent to clients at lightning speed, reminding each and every one how you can address their needs. For a surprise announcement or promotion, owners should be able to manually create one-time blast emails and send them to relevant audiences. The end result is medspas and patients get to see more of each other while the team can celebrate additional bookings and revenue.

Payment systems

Say what you will about first impressions, but sometimes the last thing a client sees at the medspa will shape their entire memory of the experience. Unfortunately for owners, that’s often paying the bill, the last moment anyone wants to experience a complication. To streamline the experience, most medspa solutions support a range of payment options that include debit cards, credit accounts, and smartphone apps. But the best medspa software goes several steps further to promote an even more positive experience.

Within the client profiles described above, medspa platforms can also store payment options. (Which once again, should be securely encrypted.) That means the system can automatically charge the client as soon as the appointment ends with no further input — just the good vibes of a satisfying appointment. Even better, stored payment features protect your bottom line by providing a way to charge no-show fees automatically.

• Outside of the appointment charge, payment systems are also useful for upselling or even rewarding clients

• Loyalty plans, gift cards, and special events are all promotion options that clients can review at a payment screen

Investing in client experiences

It’s crucial to remember that medspa platforms aren’t just products for owners to purchase. They are investments in your business, your service, and the client experience. That’s why we make sure Boulevard’s software checks every box that medspa teams need to check, from self-booking to HIPAA compliance. And to top it off, we include dedicated first-party support that addresses problems as they occur, thanks to a five-minute average response time. Get in touch with Boulevard today to make sure your medspa is as efficient and successful as it can be.

For more medspa operations best practices, check out our guide: The Ultimate Guide to Medical Spa Management Software.