Recently, many
questions came up on another medical blog relating to the Pharmanex
Biophotonic Scanner. I cannot share the questions and answers of
the Doctors on that blog by request of the blog (it is not a public
site), but I can share my answer(s). I hope this might be of some
interest to you as a medical professional.
*****
I found the various comments regarding the Biophotonic Scanner and
Pharmenex very interesting. Most of the comments were
accurate based on the view/experience of the person(s) commenting.
It seems like all of the Doctors are missing the point that a diet
high in fruits and vegetables is healthy. Carotenoid status
correlates with many markers of health. Carotenoids are
unique antioxidants and our scanner measures it in the skin and
provides a score to use as a reliable source in correlation to
other antioxidants in the body.
The profit margin in selling your own supplements, using your own
compounder, etc. can be as much as 100%. A multi-level
approach to a medical practice is often not as efficient unless you
are involving other health care professionals as part of your
"circle group", which would be known as downlines in the MLM
world.
The way we have set things up with our Doctors is no MLM, but
Doctor to patient. Many patients resent buying products from
a Doctor after they find out they can get similar products on-line
for half the price. Worst, it creates distrust. The
products our Doctors sell to their patients are the same price they
get on-line and the Doctor still makes a 20-30% profit. The
profit margin for the scanner is the $20/scan the patient pays for
the first scan, and if the patient buys either the Lifepak Nano, or
g3 juice, the next scan is free, and Pharmanex pays the Doctor $5
for each rescan. If you are a Doctor and survey your
patients, you will find that most of them spend between $100 and
$200 a month on some sort of supplements. There is nothing
wrong with a patient spending that amount of money via a Physician
on products the Physician knows will work, can monitor and get the
Patient to come back when they are sick or for regular check-ups.
And there is nothing wrong with the Physician having a
monetary benefit.
I have personally done hundreds of scans at ACAM events, and if
someone scores in the 40-50,000 range, I say "congratulations" on
whatever you are doing because it is working, just keep doing
it. Folks
that are in the 30-40,000 range, I tell them they can boost their
score by eating more fruits and vegetables, exercising, etc.
I am not surprised by a high score and I do not dispute that a
balanced diet and proper nutrition will give you a high score
without supplements. People that make the effort to have a
balanced diet and are careful in what they eat, also exercise
(yoga, gym, etc.) and live what would be called a "healthy life
style". Everyone else needs some sort of supplement or
incentive to change habits that might not be healthy for
them.
The Biophotonic Scanner is scientifically based. I
will have Dr. Steve Wood (Head of Worldwide Research for Pharmanex)
answer the scientific questions as soon as he has reviewed the
various comments. However, in my experience, the Biophotonic
Scanner is a "life motivator” giving a non-intrusive, pain free
gauge to what you know you should be doing, but may not be doing.
Most people who get scanned know whether they are taking care
of themselves, eating right, etc. They do not need the
scanner to validate it, similar to when they come in to you for a
check-up, they know if they are overweight, not eating healthy,
drinking too much, smoking, not getting enough sleep, having
stress, etc. You tell them what they need to do and show them
their test results, and many do not do what they need to do.
However, when you are able to get scanned every couple months, and
you see a positive result, you continue on that positive journey.
Habits are formed in 21 days. If you can get someone eating
better, taking a supplement, exercising, and starting to watch
their weight, you are making a major change in their lifestyle for
the better. The scanner can really help in doing this.
There are all kinds of scientific tests that can be done to obtain
accurate information about health status. The Biophotonic
Scanner is one of the few tools that can be operated by almost
anyone to provide a fair reference point of "lifestyle" and
encourage someone without recrimination to try better. It is
a great marketing tool and obvious means to get people to try
supplements, hopefully Pharamenx. Pharmanex has 6 supplements
listed in the PDF and all their products are NSF certified, as well
as certified by two other major independent testing groups.
Of course there some other great supplements out there.
Do you need supplements if you can eat a balanced diet and
consume everything you need to consume via natural and/or raw
foods? Maybe, maybe not. But we are an immediate
gratification society that wants to take a pill and/or take the
easiest way to achieve ones needs.
We do not require our Doctors to sell only Pharmanex products, but
we do set up a formula so they are able to generate $2,000+ a month
in Pharmanex and/or Nu Skin product sales. Fortunately, it is
easy to do. The Doctor still sells their own supplements
and/or others they believe in and we integrate additional products
into their practice that generate revenue, meet their minimums, and
do not infringe on their existing profit centers. We have
Doctors making between $20-40,000 a month selling their own
supplements. They still opt to have a scanner as they believe
it is a great reference tool to keep their patients motivated.
They sell primarily our Galvanic Spas, g3 juice and other
anti-aging products that their patients find beneficial.
If the Doctor does 8 scans a day at $20/scan and has an average
sale of $80 in products to only 10% of the patients scanned, it
would generate $3,200 in scanner income plus another $1,280 in
product sales per month. The scanner rents for $209 per month
and scan cards are $1.90 each per package of 100 (or $900 for a
package of 1,000). The Doctor would make about $2,800 a month
after buying scanner cards and paying the rental fee. If the
Doctor only sells products to patients and does not sign up other
Doctors, then the Doctor would need to buy additional products for
personal use and/or resale to make up the difference between the
$1,280 and the $2,000 minimum required to maintain the scanner
rental agreement. The Doctor would still make a net profit of
over $2,000/month having a scanner, plus the validation and profit
from selling their own supplements. Many of our Doctors buy
VitaMeal to make up the difference. VitaMeal is part of the
Nourish the Children Initiative & “Feed The Children". 1
bag of VitaMeal feeds 1 starving child for 1 month and is 100% tax
deductible. The amount bought is credited against the $2,000
per month minimum.
I hope this answers most comments and questions. Like
everything else, a profitable and productive business is based on
what you do, whom you work with, and how you implement it. We
are always looking for ways to make Doctors more money with minimal
risk and inventory.
These comments are strictly my opinion as an independent Nu
Skin/Pharmanex Distributor and may or may not reflect those of the
Nu Skin Enterprise. As soon as I have additional "scientific"
comments from Dr. Steve Wood, I will ask the Moderator to review
them and post them for you.
Gary H. Mason
income4doctors.com
******
My
comments are based on my experience. All the scientific data
is available. Simply email us, and we
will send you whatever information you require. I wanted Dr.
Steve Wood to answer the specific scientific comments raised in
discussion on the blog so you would not need to wade through data
or visit other websites. I have never been a fan of mlm's and
after much prodding by my significant other, took a trip to Utah,
had an extensive visit with Dr. Steve Wood (head of worldwide
research for Pharmanex), and a one on one visit with the President
of Nu Skin - Mr. Truman Hunt. The company truly has an open
door policy. I then brought several Doctors with me on a
subsequent trip to see if Nu Skin/ Pharmanex was truly on the up
and up. The Doctors that came with me said that the Company was
completely candid in answering all of their questions. One
Doctor decided to manufacture his own supplements, but is a big fan
of the Galvanic Spa for his patients, another Doctor sells
Pharmanex products, a third Doctor thought that Pharmanex had a
great "commercial" product, but he preferred to use his
compounders, and a 4th Doctor said he just did not feel comfortable
recommending a product that he would be selling, so he is still on
the fence whether to sell, refer, or not say anything.
The Biophotonic scanner is in fact a marketing tool. I think my
response listed as A12 was candid, direct, and accurate. I began my
comments by saying "I found the various comments regarding the
Biophotonic Scanner and Pharmenex very interesting. Most of
the comments were accurate based on the view/experience of the
person(s) commenting." If the discussion is not from a
business perspective, but from a scientific perspective then let's
wait for the response from Dr. Steve Wood, and it will then either
validate the comments made by many of you, or it will add
additional information that you may find helpful.
The bottom line in my opinion is this: If a patient is going
to spend $100 to $200 a month on supplements anyways (with or
without your encouragement), why not become actively involved in
making sure they are using something that will give them a true
benefit. Something that you know will make a difference for
them because it has made a difference for you. It does not
need to be Pharmanex, it can be whatever product you believe in or
more important "you use yourself." None of the Doctors I deal
with recommend anything to their patients that they have not tried
themselves.
In my opinion, the biophotonic scanner is another tool, that does
in fact have scientific validation. The extent of the validation
will need to be addressed by Dr. Steve Wood. I am not
qualified to do that. I know that they do have studies using both
blood tests, urine tests, etc. and have correlated the efficacy of
the scanner scores to that of traditional intrusive testing.
Are there better tests out there, probably, but for a marker
that does in fact point you in the right direction. It can be done
on a bi monthly basis at minimal cost. It takes 90 seconds,
can be done by a member of the office staff, and most important, it
gets your patients to drop by for a visit (which they normally
would not do). What is wrong with that.
In any case, I am not disputing anything anyone has said, you are
all acting in good faith based on your experiences, and I have
great respect for the works of Dr. -------, and many of you that
have shared your experiences and opinions. This is a great
website, and I am honored to be able to participate "commercial
free."
One again, these are my opinions as an Independent Pharmanex/Nu
Skin Distributor and not necessarily those of Nu Skin
Enterprises.
Gary Mason
income4doctors.com