According to Plastic Surgery Practice a new cosmetic patient safety group has been created called the Physicians Aesthetic Coalition. This combined group is made up of all the top aesthetic surgey associations in the cosmetic plastic surgery industry. It is a group effort made up of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), the American Academy of Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS), the American Society Ophthalmic Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery (ASOPRS), and the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS).
As quoted on Plastic Surgery Practice:
“All of the organizations have active and successful patient safety initiatives. However, we feel that a unified voice representing more than 8,000 board certified physicians will further advance our goals of informing the public of patient safety issues and continuing patient safety educational efforts to all members” says Jonathan Sykes, MD, president of the AAFPRS. “We look forward to working with our colleagues across specialties to increase patient safety for anyone considering cosmetic medicine or aesthetic surgery procedures.”
This is a great step towards patient safety in the cosmetic plastic surgery industry. A single voice over the industry might be heard with much greater force than each individual voice by themselves. One of the major reasons for this coalition is the increase in aesthetic cosmetic surgery and the abundance of clearly non-qualified clinicians performing some of these treatments and procedures.
“Along with the increasing popularity of aesthetic surgery and noninvasive cosmetic treatments, an increasing and disturbing number of non-qualified clinicians and unproven treatments are being promoted to the public. This is a significant patient safety issue” said Felmont F. Eaves III, MD, president of the ASAPS. “Through the Coalition, we can address these issues on a stronger platform than we could individually, using credible medical evidence to help patients make informed decisions.”
