The Importance of Credentials for Your Plastic Surgeon

Is your plastic surgeon board certified?

If you haven’t asked that question, it’s crucial that you do.

You may have never stopped to consider whether your general practice physician is board certified. But it’s not really an issue because he or she accepts insurance and is therefore required, by the insurance company, to be credentialed.

But when you seek out a cosmetic procedure like a full facelift, it is typically not covered by insurance. Therefore, the doctor’s credentials aren’t under scrutiny and they are not required to abide by the same rules and standards.

That’s why it’s essential you insist on checking the credentials for your plastic surgeon.

Otherwise, you’re putting your life at risk.

 

Necessary Credentials for Your Plastic Surgeon

When going outside a traditional health system or hospital, verifying that your doctor is board-certified is an absolutely necessary step.

So if you’re planning to undergo cosmetic plastic surgery, the first step is to find a doctor that is board certified by American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS).

 

  1. The American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS) 

 

The ABPS is one of 24 medical specialty boards that make up the larger and more comprehensive American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS).

Recognizing the need to protect the public, these boards work together to ensure that doctors meet specific educational, training, and professional requirements.

In other words, they establish the standards that physicians are required to achieve in order to maintain their board certification.

ABMS and the respective specialty boards are accountable both to the public and the medical profession.

They support physicians by creating programs that assist doctors in their field and improve their practice. And they help patients identify which doctors are certified and what that entails.

Furthermore, they work with healthcare leaders to foster initiatives that monitor and promote the quality of healthcare, while increasing awareness around the importance of board certification.

 

  1. American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS)

 

In addition to being board certified by ABPS, look for plastic surgeons who are members of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

As the largest plastic surgery specialty organization in the world, the ASPS is a leading authority on cosmetic plastic surgery and represents 93% of all board-certified plastic surgeons in the U.S.

In a nutshell, the mission of ASPS is to “promote safe, ethical, efficacious plastic surgery to the public by maintaining high standards for the education, examination, certification and continuous certification of plastic surgeons as specialists and subspecialists.”

ASPS and its members make patient safety a top priority. One way they do this is by providing education, advocacy, practice support, and enhanced public awareness of the value of plastic surgery.

Because they demand the highest professional, ethical, and quality standards, ASPS requires that surgery is only performed in accredited, state-licensed or Medicare-certified surgical facilities. That means that the surgeons, other personnel, operating rooms, and equipment must meet stringent national standards.

 

  1. American College of Surgeons (ACS)

 

Finally, if you’re able to locate a surgeon with the letters FACS after his or her name, then you’ve found the cream of the crop. This means that he or she is a member, a.k.a. “Fellow”, of the American College of Surgeons.

To become a Fellow, surgeons must pass a rigorous evaluation that measures his or her education and training, surgical competence, ethical conduct, and professional qualifications.

Only surgeons that meet the high and exacting standards established and demanded by the College are accepted as members. Thus, the FACS designation is the sign of an esteemed plastic surgeon.

 

Does Your Plastic Surgeon Have the Right Stuff?

 

Making the decision to have plastic surgery was likely not one you took lightly.

Choosing the right surgeon is just as important.

Demand the highest credentials for your plastic surgeon. Contact us today to speak with doctors that meet the above credentials.

And be confident that you’re getting only the best healthcare.