Dermatologic surgery : official publication for American Society for Dermatologic Surgery [et al.]
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Nonphysicians are expanding practice into specialty medicine. There are limited studies on patient and physician perspectives as well as safety outcomes regarding the nonphysician practice of cosmetic procedures. ⋯ Both patients and physicians think more regulation should be in place on who can perform cosmetic procedures. More adverse events such as burns and discolorations occurred with patients seeing nonphysicians compared with those seeing physicians. In addition, for those seeing nonphysicians, a majority of these encounters took place in spa settings. Patient safety is of utmost concern when it comes to elective cosmetic medical procedures. More adverse events and encounters occurring outside traditional medical settings when nonphysicians performed these procedures call into question the required training and oversight needed for such procedures.
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The regulation of medical spas (med-spas) in the United States varies considerably from state to state with important ramifications for patient safety. ⋯ There is significant variation in medical directorship and oversight among medical spas in the United States. Appropriate regulation of medical directors' training and the degree of oversight provided are warranted to optimize patient safety.