Safeguards on aesthetic procedures
THE Main Credentialing and Privileging Committee of Aesthetic Medical Practice which consists of doctors from the Health Ministry’s Medical Practice Division, aesthetic medical practitioners, dermatologists and plastic surgeons has been tasked to regulate aesthetic medical practices in Malaysia.
To ensure public safety and to uphold professional standards, a set of guidelines on Aesthetic Medical Practice was developed and implemented in June 2013. With the implementation of these guidelines only medical practitioners with LCP (Letter of Credentialing and Privileging) are allowed to carry out aesthetic medical procedures. These procedures should also be performed in a licensed medical facility equipped with sterilised equipment and an emergency trolley. They should not be performed in a beauty centre or a person’s home. One can’t exactly bake a cake in a garage!
There have been instances where doctors have performed aesthetic procedures outside their expertise or have not conformed to codes of ethical conduct that has resulted in complications.
However, many of these cases have been highlighted through proper regulations and enforcement that are in place. This has helped to identify the offending doctors and allowed appropriate disciplinary actions to be taken.
Then there is the question about non-medical practitioners. First and foremost, they are not medical doctors with no medical training. For the most part there are no educational requirements that need to be met, no uniform professional standards or codes of conduct exist and there is no governing body to whom the public can direct their complaints. There are no national external body to regulate these practitioners.
The recent tragic death of a young model following a liposuction procedure by a non-medical practitioner at a beauty centre is an example of the dire consequences when procedures are carried out by a non-medical practitioner.
Medical doctors are taught to take precautions to minimise the risk of complications and are trained to recognise and deal with complications that may sometimes inevitably occur. They are licensed to prescribe relevant medications such as antibiotics if infections do occur. They can perform CPR should an anaphylactic reaction occur following an allergic reaction to an anaesthetic drug. A nonmedical practitioner simply cannot do all these!
The Dermatological Society of Malaysia (Persatuan Dermatologi Malaysia) urges regulatory bodies and the government to come together to regulate aesthetic practices among non-medical practitioners, i.e. the beauticians. Non-medical practitioners should be prohibited from carrying out any invasive procedures especially when it involves any injections of a drug.
So how does the public know how to access aesthetic procedures from a qualified medical practitioner? Here are some tips:
> Refer to the Health Ministry’s website (www.moh.gov.my/index.php/pages/view/2118)
> Cheap does not always mean value for money! If the consultations and treatments are cheap, the quality of the equipment and the experience of the provider may be questionable.
> Never believe what you read online! Always remember that ethical medical professionals do not advertise themselves by using testimonials on their websites and most of these websites have not been vetted.
> Trust your instinct! If something doesn’t feel right about the place or person, just turn around and walk away.