Our Approach: Plastic Surgery
Credentials
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Dr. Harlan and Dr. Todd Pollock are board-certified
by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and members in good standing
in the American Society of Plastic Surgery. Both have hospital
privileges at several local hospitals to perform all of the procedures
that are offered in our accredited office surgical suite.
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We feel that obtaining information about credentials and hospital
privileges must be part of your decision to select a particular surgeon. Other
factors that one should consider are the surgeon's reputation, referrals by
physicians or friends and - most importantly - one's comfort level and confidence
in the surgeon. One can only determine this after a consultation with the physician
personally. It is our firm belief that any surgeon performing office surgery
should have hospital privileges to perform that procedure. Additionally, one
should always consider a second opinion.
American Society of Plastic Surgeons |
OVERVIEW: BOARD
CERTIFICATION EXPLAINED
The American Society of Plastic Surgery (ASPS) is a membership organization
consisting 97% of all Surgeons certified by the American Board of Plastic
Surgery and only ABPS surgeons. The ASPS provides members with postgraduate
medical education, public education, and promotes patient safety and
member ethics. |
The one medical board-certifying agency that you can rely upon is the American
Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) and its sub-boards. This is the board that
OVERSEES the certification of physicians in all specialties.
"The intent of the certification of physicians is
to provide assurance to the public that a physician specialist certified
by a member board of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) has
successfully completed an approved educational program and an evaluation
process which includes an examination designed to assess the knowledge,
skills, and experience required to provide quality patient care in that
specialty."
Quoted from the ABMS Assembly
The American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS) is the specialty board accredited
by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) that certifies plastic
surgeons. The ABPS is the only one of the 24 boards approved by the ABMS that
certifies surgeons in plastic surgery of the face and all areas of the body.
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons
(ASPS) requires ABPS certification for membership. ASPS oversees continuing
medical education, practice standards and ethics.
SELF DESIGNATED SPECIALTY ORGANIZATIONS
ARE MEMBERSHIP ORGANIZATIONS,
NOT MEDICAL BOARDS
Medical specialty certification must be differentiated
from a physician's ability to designate a special area of interest.
This practice, used by the American Medical Association and many local
medical societies, is known as a "self-designated specialty."
For example in Table I, to the right, there is a breakdown of the membership
of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (AACS).
Notes:
- More than 25% of AACS are dermatologists -
a medical but not a surgical specialty.
- Nearly 25% are boarded by a dental specialty.
Source: Cosmetic Surgery Times, Vol. 6, Number 2, March 2003. |
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Table I. The Cosmetic Make-up:
Medical discipline of AACS
member practices |
| Dermatology |
27.5% |
| Oral/Maxillofacial Surgery |
23.8% |
| Plastic/Reconstructive |
16.9% |
| Ophthalmology |
9.0% |
| Otolaryngology |
7.9% |
| Otorhinolaryngology |
5.8% |
| General Surgery |
5.8% |
| OB/GYN |
4.8% |
| Family Practice |
1.6% |
| Emergency Medicine |
1.6% |
| Internal Medicine |
0.5% |
| Other |
7.9% |
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How do you find out which doctor is board certified?
You can check on specific physicians through the American Board of Medical
Specialties Website at www.abms.org » and
then click on "Who's Certified." Verbal verification is
available through the ABMS toll-free telephone service by calling 866 ASK-ABMS
(275-2267).
Verification is available in The Official ABMS Directory of Board Certified
Medical Specialists, published annually. The directory can be found in many
medical and public libraries. Written verification is available by contacting
the individual specialty board in the physician's field of practice.
Hospital Privileges
Major hospitals are very diligent in credentialing surgeons for
privileges to perform specific procedures. Furthermore, in a hospital setting,
surgeons are subject to peer review (case reviews), which enforces acceptable
standards. Any hospital medical staff office can provide this information.
 Credentials:
The Importance of Medical Credentials
Cosmetic Surgery: Promises and Pitfalls™
PROMISES
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One
should expect that a physician has the proper training,
credentials and experience to provide the service
you are seeking. One would expect a board-certified
plastic surgeon to have gone through a broad and
rigorous training program, to have adequate surgical
experience, and to have passed both written and oral
objective testing. |
Further, one would expect that the surgeon
has met certain ethical standards as required by the particular
specialty. (The American Society of Plastic Surgeons enforces
one of the most rigorous ethical codes in the medical profession.)
PITFALLS
- Any physician may call himself/herself a plastic surgeon
or cosmetic surgeon with training.
- In most states, including Texas, any physician
may perform any procedure in his/her office without peer
scrutiny. There are no training requirements. And there
is no requirement that the physician be a
trained surgeon to offer and perform a surgical procedure
in his/her own office.
- A physician may claim to be board-certified
simply by joining a sound-a-like organization. In fact,
this has made the public understanding of board certification
so difficult, that it has become necessary to
use the American Society of Plastic Surgery name and
logo to distinguish those surgeons certifies by the
American Board of Plastic Surgery from all the rest!
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