What Price Beauty? Your Lawyer knows…

September 8th, 2009. By AbiK

The phrase “What price beauty?” is starting to take on new meaning. Used to insinuate something that went a bit too far—in cost, time, discomfort, whatever—to achieve beauty. But now, it’s about safety. And it goes beyond whether the manicurist remembered to disinfect the cuticle nipper/trimmer. Not downplaying a potential infection, but beauty’s got bigger—and potentially more dangerous—issues to deal with. Enter medispas…

There’s a lot of misconception about what a medispa is and isn’t. A medispa, or medical spa, refers to a facility where both traditional spa treatments (facial, massage, waxing, manicure) and non-surgical cosmetic procedures (laser hair removal, cosmetic injections like botox, laser resurfacing, chemical peels) are administered. A medispa operates under the supervision of a doctor—but that doesn’t mean the doctor either performs the treatment or is even on-site when it happens.

Sounds straightforward—until you ask yourself, so who’s wielding that Yag laser during my hair removal treatment? And what board certified them?

And that’s where the safety issue comes in. According to a recent article in the National Law Review (9/2/09), malpractice lawsuits aimed at medispas are the latest litigation “hot spot”. While many states require that licensed doctors actually perform procedures at medispas, the article states that some lawyers argue this doesn’t necessarily happen in reality.

Most frequently, claims filed relate to scarring and burns on the skin. And while there is a risk with any of these procedures for scarring or burning occur, at issue is not the procedure itself, but who is administering it—how were they trained? what certifications do they have? why are they performing the treatment if by law a physician is supposed to do it? The questions go on and on…

You’ll undoubtedly begin to see more requests for informed consent forms being signed in an attempt to forestall or avoid any legal challenge. That should send up a little red flag in and of itself. But as this new legal area grows, best to seek out a board certified physician to perform your cosmetic procedures…

Tags: Botox, Malpractice, Medispa

This was posted on Tuesday, September 8th, 2009 at 2:01 pm and is filed under Drugs/Medical, Emerging Issues . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.