New Cosmetic Surgery Guidelines

The Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery welcomes Medical Board’s new guidelines for cosmetic medical and surgical procedures.

The ACCS has taken an active role in the development of the new guidelines, which will improve patient safety and informed consent.
 
The guidelines, which take effect from 1 October 2016, provide for cooling off periods for major procedures and under 18s, mandatory pre-treatment consultations, better price transparency and improved post-operative care protocols. The guidelines are available on the Medical Board of Australia’s website: www.medicalboard.gov.au

ACCS president Dr Ron Bezic said that the new guidelines were a win for patients. “Our College was the first to establish a code of practice. Many of the provisions of that code are also now reflected in the new guidelines.
“Patients will benefit particularly from the improved informed consent provisions. Cosmetic medicine and surgery are almost always self-referred, and there is a greater need for the stronger informed consent guidelines announced today by the Medical Board of Australia,” Dr Bezic said.
 
“The College also would like to congratulate the Medical Board for the extensive consultation work that went in to the development of the new guidelines. It is clear that the Board has listened to expert medical opinion and the general community,” Dr Bezic said.
 
Dr Bezic noted that there was still work to be done. In order to achieve the strongest regulatory framework a multidimensional approach must be adopted.
 
There are greater numbers of cosmetic medical and surgical practitioners working outside of any cosmetic surgery-specific training and accreditation framework. Without a greater emphasis on national education and training standards, cosmetic surgery will continue to grow substantially, but without the necessary accreditation standards found in other specialty areas of medicine,” Dr Bezic warned.
 
The ACCS believes national standards of education and training be established so that any medical college or university can have its training program assessed against that standard. Patients will be better protected and better equipped to make informed decisions, because they will able to choose doctors who have undergone relevant training, assessment and accreditation specifically in Cosmetic Surgery.
 
The ACCS is also working cooperatively with the NSW government’s welcome initiative to strengthen private health facility licencing regulations.
 
The ACCS advises anyone considering cosmetic surgery to do their homework to ensure that their surgeon is properly trained in Cosmetic Surgery. As part of its Code of Practice, the College has also produced a patient information brochure, “Things you should know” which provides information about choosing a doctor and questions to ask before deciding to have cosmetic surgery. The Code of Practice and patient information brochure are available from the College’s website: www.accs.org.au
 
The Medical Board of Australia’s Associate Professor, Stephen Bradshaw, will outline the Board’s new guidelines at the College’s forthcoming conference, COSMETEX16, being held at Hilton, Sydney from 12-14 May.
 

• https://www2.iceaustralia.com/ei/images/COSMETEX16/Cosmetex16_Program.pdf
• http://www.cosmetex.org

ENDS
 
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For further information or interviews, contact:
Alan Jones m. 0420 757 009 or Blanche De Winter m. 0425 279 091
 
About the Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery
Established in 1999, the ACCS is a not-for-profit, multi-disciplinary fellowship-based college of general surgeons, cosmetic surgeons, plastic surgeons, maxillofacial surgeons, cosmetic physicians, dermatologists, ear nose and throat surgeons, ophthalmologists, general practitioners and other doctors who practice in cosmetic medicine and surgery. The College also admits nurses as affiliate members.
The primary goal of the ACCS is to ensure the safe provision of cosmetic medicine and cosmetic surgical procedures to the Australian community through the supply of appropriately trained and certified health care practitioners.
The ACCS is the only medical college which provides education and training leading to fellowship specifically in cosmetic medicine and surgery. Fellows of the College are medical doctors who have completed post-graduate education and training and have demonstrated competency specifically in cosmetic medicine and surgery. To become an ACCS Fellow, doctors must typically complete a minimum 12 years medical and/or surgical education and training.
For additional information about the ACCS, please visit: www.accs.org.au