Cosmetic Derm by Primary care docs?

[teaparty123]

IF there are any dermatologists here into cosmetic dermatology can you comment on the fact that what they think about primary care docs practicing all sorts of cosmetic derm such as Laser procedures for varicose veins, spider angioma, hair removal, botox and so many other procedures. I believe they only take certain courses and certifications and practice as cosmetic dermatologists..i'm not sure if insurance covers some of theses but what do dermatologists think of this trend?

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[ny skindoc]

IF there are any dermatologists here into cosmetic dermatology can you comment on the fact that what they think about primary care docs practicing all sorts of cosmetic derm such as Laser procedures for varicose veins, spider angioma, hair removal, botox and so many other procedures. I believe they only take certain courses and certifications and practice as cosmetic dermatologists..i'm not sure if insurance covers some of theses but what do dermatologists think of this trend?

Any licensed physician can pretty much legally do what they want.Many primary care docs and others perform cosmetic procedures as part of their practice.Some are good at them others are very poor.So its a buyer beware situation.Primary care docs would not be advised to promote themselves as "cosmetic dermatologists" this could be considered fraud in many states. Virtually every specialty has "turf" issues to contend with.Most dermatologists are very busy in their practices and dont feel particularly thretened by this.Patients should be aware of who is treating them and what their particular qualifications are.Someone who is doing cosmetic procedures primarily or as a substantial part of their practice is going to give you better results than someone who is mostly treating HTN and diabetes etc.I for one would never let anyone touch me with a laser or inject filling agents who was not very experienced.Although these are often straight forward procedures they can be easily botched up.

 

[teaparty123]

Any licensed physician can pretty much legally do what they want.Many primary care docs and others perform cosmetic procedures as part of their practice.Some are good at them others are very poor.So its a buyer beware situation.Primary care docs would not be advised to promote themselves as "cosmetic dermatologists" this could be considered fraud in many states. Virtually every specialty has "turf" issues to contend with.Most dermatologists are very busy in their practices and dont feel particularly thretened by this.Patients should be aware of who is treating them and what their particular qualifications are.Someone who is doing cosmetic procedures primarily or as a substantial part of their practice is going to give you better results than someone who is mostly treating HTN and diabetes etc.I for one would never let anyone touch me with a laser or inject filling agents who was not very experienced.Although these are often straight forward procedures they can be easily botched up.

thanks for the comment. I agree with your comments but as you said it does depend on the experience of the physician, some of the primary docs were dermatologists in their countries and have a great undrestanding of the skin and could not compete to become board certified because of being a foreign grad.

 

[novacek88]

By the time you guys are done, this field will be saturated to the point that no one will really make money in this field. There are no shortage of physicians and others who don't provide Botox and other superficial cosmetic procedures now. I can't imagine how bad it will be in 5 years. If I really wanted to get involved with cosmetics, I would at least do a general surgery residency and then a one year cosmetics fellowship; you don't even need to do a PRS fellowship any longer to do cosmetics because at least a laser tech, spa owner, dentist and chiropractor can't perform breast augmentation surgery by taking some seminar. This is a turf the dermatologists have lost for all intents and purposes.

Legally, a primary care physician can advertise "cosmetic dermatology" under their shingle. Legally, that's not the same as saying I'm a dermatologist. This is why you see this type of advertising everywhere. They cannot refer to themselves as cosmetic dermatologists. But they can say they are Family Practice physicans who offer cosmetic dermatology as one of their services.

And let's be honest, the dermatologists and other physicians are not the ones performing these procedures. They have trained and licensed techs who do these procedures. So what difference does it make whether you have it done at a dermatologist's office or an FP's office. The quality of work will be the same since it will be performed by a similarly trained tech.

 

[ny skindoc]

And let's be honest, the dermatologists and other physicians are not the ones performing these procedures. They have trained and licensed techs who do these procedures. So what difference does it make whether you have it done at a dermatologist's office or an FP's office. The quality of work will be the same since it will be performed by a similarly trained tech.

Certain procedures such as laser hair removal and microdermabraision can be done by techs/PAs etc.Other things such as laser resurfacing,injection of filling agents etc are done by the physician directly in most dermatology practices.The quality of the work will vary according to the skill and experience of the operator.These factors count for more than the specific specialty of the physician.I would suggest patients find out exactly who will be treating them and their level of training before signing up for any invasive cosmetic work.

 

[OnMyWayThere]

Legally, a primary care physician can advertise "cosmetic dermatology" under their shingle. Legally, that's not the same as saying I'm a dermatologist. This is why you see this type of advertising everywhere. They cannot refer to themselves as cosmetic dermatologists. But they can say they are Family Practice physicans who offer cosmetic dermatology as one of their services.

I believe they can refer to themselves as cosmetic dermatologists if they'd like. They just can't say they're board certified dermatologists.

 

[droliver]

COther things such as laser resurfacing,injection of filling agents etc are done by the physician directly in most dermatology practices..

It's become less & less unusual to have your nurse or assistants perform most or all of your injectables in busy practices. Depending upon the state, some nurse can use ablative lasers independently with some certification. Most of the new tech stuff (RF, IPL, ad the like) is non-ablative anyway which already falls under classifications that don't require higher educational credentials.

Practice management consultants will spell this out for you. The margin on most of these areas of non-surgical treatments has shrunk tremendously for most markets.