What is The Fountain?

We created The Fountain because we found that, as patients ourselves, researching cosmetic procedures and choosing a provider was much harder and much more time consuming than it needed to be. Quite frankly, it was exhausting and maddening.

While researching a provider, we found large review sites to be overwhelming—sifting through hundreds, thousands, sometimes even millions of reviews. How did we know which sites to trust? How could we find enough time to go through all of them? And what if we only looked at one review site? Would that skew our impression of a certain provider?

And when we researched treatments, we found the sheer volume of medical information daunting. Much of it felt either too superficial or too deep and jargon-y. 

There had to be an easier way to educate ourselves about our options. A way that involved cutting through the noise and confusion we kept encountering around elective medical procedures. A way that didn’t require visiting dozens of websites and sorting through countless reviews and testimonials to get the information we needed to choose a doctor or pick a med spa.

We knew we couldn’t be the only ones who felt this way, so we started talking to our friends and families. Those one-off conversations turned into larger discussions within our networks and eventually led to discussions with leaders across the cosmetic medical space. 

Everyone agreed. It should be easier and more convenient for patients to access this type of information.

Powered by those conversations, we decided to recruit a team of experts (patients and enthusiasts of cosmetic procedures themselves) to build something better, something simpler. We made it our mission to empower you to look, feel, and become your best. 

The Fountain was created to bridge a gap, making the insights you need more accessible, and offering you a unique point of view. We’ve done the legwork required to give you the most comprehensive and up-to-date information so you can choose a cosmetic treatment and a provider you’ll be happy with.

  • What The Fountain Provides for Patients:

    On behalf of patients everywhere, we research and review information about treatments, doctors, clinicians, and other providers. 

    For treatments, we discuss popular elective and cosmetic procedures specific to three core parts of the human body—the face, the body, and hair. Some of the most popular treatments we cover study include: body contouring, minimally invasive liposuction, cellulite reduction, laser hair removal, Botox, dermal fillers, chemical peels, and microdermabrasion.  

    For doctors, clinicians, and other providers, we begin by aggregating information from multiple, authoritative third-party sources, all of which we’ve vetted for reliability. From there, we line that information up against the data we’ve compiled and insights we’ve gained from research, mystery shopping, and provider interviews we’ve conducted. 

    Finally, we use a proprietary scoring model, The Fountain Score (more on that below), to weigh and interpret all of those data points, ultimately delivering that information to you in a digestible and helpful way. 

    By building a dependable team of dedicated experts, we want to help guide you toward feeling and becoming your best. We care about how you feel because we’re patients, just like you.

    What The Fountain Provides for Patients:
  • The Fountain Score: Our Approach to Scoring Doctors, Clinicians, and Other Providers:

    The Fountain Score: Our Approach to Scoring Doctors, Clinicians, and Other Providers:

    Our core objective when we set out to develop The Fountain Score was to instill confidence in patients by providing them with holistic information in an easy-to-consume, understandable way. 

    After speaking to thousands of patients—from those who elected to have a number of treatments done to those who are in the early research stages and considering their first—we identified the most important criteria patients use to select a provider: 

    1. The availability of a desired treatment
    2. Honest reviews
    3. Experience and credentials 
    4. Proximity and convenience
    5. The cost of treatment 

     

  • The Fountain Score: What We Measure

    The Fountain Score is an algorithm made up of five core components, all derived from the criteria listed above: 

      1. Cumulative score based on total reviews—We take into account each patient review from every major and credible review site (including Google, Yelp, RealSelf, and others).
      2. The presence and proportion of negative reviews—We gather data from every major and credible review site; this allows us to see aggregate trends for each provider.  Having this comprehensive view allows us to offset biases from individual sites.
      3. Procedure sentiment—We work through each individual review and rating to assess patient outcomes and levels of satisfaction. Results matter. 
      4. Convenience—We take into account location, proximity, and overall convenience, highlighting superior providers in your ideal vicinity.
      5. The Fountain Effect

    We use this framework to research, evaluate, score, and provide information about medical doctors (MDs), physician assistants (PAs), nurse practitioners (NPs), and registered nurses (RNs) who conduct cosmetic procedures and dermatological treatments. 

    Each provider or group of providers we cover is given a numerical score on a 1–10 scale, The Fountain Score. 

    Let’s take a closer at each component:

    1. Cumulative Score Based on Compiled Reviews:

    Doctor, clinician, medical spa, or treatment facility ratings were almost always the first decision-making criteria our network mentioned when asked how they evaluate a prospective provider. 

    While the internet provides plenty of access to a lot of ratings-based sites, too many review sites are out there with vastly different results and varying levels of trustworthiness. It’s incredibly tough for any one person to sort through that noise, so we developed a system that compiles ratings from each of the most popular and credible sites and then weighs each review accordingly. We refresh this data for each provider at least monthly, if not more often.

    1. The Presence and Proportion of Negative Reviews:

    We take negative reviews seriously. Our algorithm is designed to flag indicators of negative sentiment, including the presence of: 

    • Specific volumes or percentage thresholds of negative reviews
    • Consistency in the content of negative reviews
    • Shifts in provider reputation or outcomes
    • A number of other red flags

    When our algorithm identifies any of the above, it applies a negative modifier to this component and adjusts a provider’s score down accordingly.

    1. Procedure Sentiment:

    A critical component of The Fountain scoring methodology is what we call procedure sentiment. We have analyzed thousands of survey results that weigh the selected procedures, by provider, and measure the relative success of a treatment. In doing so, we’ve surfaced which providers are the best at providing certain treatments, and we’ve gained insight into broader trends such as treatments that consistently provide you with positive and desired outcomes.

    1. Convenience:

    Prospective patients we interviewed repeatedly identified proximity and the overall convenience and desirability of a provider’s location as important factors. In fact, 69% of respondents to a 2012 Healthgrades study said the convenience of the provider’s location was a top consideration when selecting a physician.

    Because it matters to you, we chose to factor a provider’s convenience of care into our algorithm. In doing so, our intention is to identify the best options in your local or ideal geography to make the journey as effortless and easy as possible for you.

    1. The Fountain Effect

    The Fountain Effect is the fifth and final component of The Fountain Score. The Fountain Effect is more qualitative than its four quantitative predecessors and can add or deduct up to two points to a provider’s final score. Our review team may apply or deduct any part of those two points to a provider’s score based on the following: 

    • Provider interviews conducted by our team 
    • Mystery shopping of treatments or services conducted by our team 
    • Additional research conducted by our team to verify a provider’s credentials, procedural outcomes, related education, or experience 

    The Fountain Effect ensures you are receiving the most accurate rating and information for a potential provider. After all, as a patient, you are probably tired of being treated as a number—The Fountain Effect allows us to incorporate a uniquely human aspect into our scoring.

    We have logged tens of thousands of miles traveling across the United States conducting office visits to medical spas and dermatology practices, interviewing patients, and speaking with providers. Our team and our network—including patients across the country—have (and will continue to) mystery shopped treatment providers to get the most realistic and unbiased information we possible can. 

    By incorporating our network’s real-world experience, visitations, and conversations into our scoring, we strive to highlight physicians, providers, and organizations that deliver superior customer service, care, and results that provide satisfaction and happiness for their patients. This allows us to mitigate the risk of a negative experience by ensuring those providers with a negative reputation or potentially misguided or untruthful reviews are not highlighted or suggested providers.

    The Fountain Effect allows our team members to continually put themselves in patients’ shoes and readily go out and test specific providers on what matters most to you. The Fountain Effect—a simple, direct way for you to compare and choose the right provider.