App connecting people to reliable professionals in “poorly-regulated” industry

The co-founders of a medical aesthetic app are helping people access qualified healthcare professionals in an industry usually difficult to navigate.

Dr Sieuming Ng and Dr Subha Punj created The Safe Aesthetic Practitioner, better known as SafeAP, to combine safety with convenience.

People can book their desired non-surgical treatments worry-free. Treatments include, but are not limited to, wrinkle treatments, lip fillers, facial fillers, non-surgical nose reshaping and other skin rejuvenation injectables.

“We’re looking to disrupt this poorly-regulated industry by introducing a platform that improves safety throughout the entire client journey,” Dr Sieuming said. “Our focus is to streamline the vetting of aesthetic professionals, manage bookings and payment and flag up complications regardless of how minor or severe that for the average person can come with many pitfalls.

“The platform gives you all the information you need in one place – through our website, podcast and external links to trusted websites – alleviating the need to do the research all on your own.”

Dr Subha says that due to frequent mis-messaging on social media the general image of aesthetic treatment is that of trends and vanity, which they are here to debunk. Medical aesthetics do come with risks. This is why having treatments done by a qualified healthcare professional who can identify these risks and treat complications (should they arise) appropriately is important.

“Unfortunately, with the current climate, correct information on these procedures is not always freely available for people to make informed choices,” she said. “We want to demystify the procedures and the stigma around our industry – a lot of medical aesthetic work is very subtle and doesn’t show up as these shock messages you keep hearing about.”

Safe AP has been awarded the 2020 Global Excellence Award as the Most Innovative Patient Management APP- UK. It has been featured in Aesthetic Journal, Aesthetic Medicine and Aesthetic Nursing Journal. It was even mentioned as the platform to look out for on ITV’s This Morning by celebrity aesthetic doctor Dr Vincent Wong.

“The healthcare professionals on SafeAP are doctors, dentists or nurses and we have a stringent verification process,” Dr Sieuming said. “These include GMC/NMC/GDC registration, proof of ID, basic life support, relevant aesthetic qualifications, disclosure and barring service check and indemnity insurance.

“Clients can now search, book and pay for treatments offered by qualified healthcare aesthetic practitioners. They can also read reviews, flag complications and follow the first aid management algorithm, send messages and photos to their practitioners – all with the in-built messaging service.”