A Guide To Cosmetic and Plastic
Surgery
Checking Doctors Credentials
From
Miami Cosmetic Surgery Guide
To
verify that your doctor is certified by the American Board
of Plastic Surgery, you can go to www.abms.org
or call ABMS at 800.776.2378 or 866.275.2267.
You may also be able to find the official ABMS Directory of Board
Certified Medical Specialists at your local library. You will also
want to look for a doctor who specializes in the particular area
of the body that you are having work on.
You will also want to find out if your doctor has hospital privileges.
Even if the procedure will not be performed at the hospital (and
53% of cosmetic surgeries are not), some feel it is important to
know that your doctor is qualified and has the necessary training
to be accepted. The ASAPS states that "it is important to find
out if the doctor has operating privileges in an accredited hospital
for the same procedure you would like to have performed. Before
granting operating privileges, hospital review committees evaluate
a surgeon's training and competency for specific procedures. If
the doctor does not have hospital privileges to perform your procedure,
look for another surgeon."
The American Medical Association (AMA) will provide biographical
information on 4 doctors for $60. Your local library may also have
The American Medical Directory (published by the AMA) which lists
the affiliations of its members. Write: AMA, Department of Physician
Data Services, Dept. P, 515 N. State St. Chicago, Illinois 60610.
The surgical facility is also important. An ASAPS news bulletin
in February 2002 states:
"Published data show that accredited office-based facilities
have a safety record comparable to that of hospital ambulatory surgery
settings.
Ambulatory or office-based facilities should be accredited by a
nationally or state-recognized accrediting agency, or be state licensed
or Medicare certified."
To research a hospital setting, go to www.ahd.com.
To research a surgical center, first ask the center who they are
accredited by. They should be accredited by one of three main organizations:
1. The American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery.
You can call the AAAASF at 888.545.5222 or 847.949.6058 or look
at their website at www.aaaasf.org.
2. The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care. You
can call the AAAHC at 847.853.6060 or at www.aaahc.org.
3. The Joint commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.
You can call JCAHO at 630.792.5005 or www.jcaho.org.
You can also call the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive
Surgery (ASPRS) at 800.635.0635 to find out which of its
members have accredited surgical centers in your area.
If you have general anesthesia, be sure your anesthesiologist is
certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA). You can
call the ABA at 919. 881.2570 to verify certification. If your doctor
uses a nurse anesthetist, call the American Association of Nurse
Anesthetists (AANA) at 847.692.7050 to see if they are ANAA certified.
It is important that the emergency equipment and anesthesia monitoring
devices in your surgical facility are equivalent to those in a hospital
or freestanding ambulatory surgery center. You'll also want to be
sure that arrangements are made for hospital admission in the event
of a complication.
The Florida State Medical Board will also have information about
board certification, disciplinary action, education and license
verification.
Florida Board of Medicine
Tanya J. Williams, Executive Director
4052 Bald Cypress Way, BIN #C03
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1753
Phone: 850.245.4131
Fax: 850.488.9325
Web: www.doh.state.fl.us
Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine
Karen Eaton, Executive Director
4052 Bald Cypress Way, BIN C06
Tallahassee, FL 32399
Phone: 850.488.0595
Fax:850.487.9874
Web: www.doh.state.fl.us
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