To verify that your doctor is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, you can go to http://www.abms.org or call ABMS at 1-800-776-2378 or 866-275-2267. You may also be able to find The Official ABMS Directory of Board Certified Medical Specialists at your local library. You will also want to look for a doctor who specializes the particular area of the body that you are having work on.
Your State Medical Board will also have information about board certification, disciplinary action, education and license verification. Find your State Medical Board.
You will also want to find out if your doctor has hospital privileges. Even if the procedure will not be performed at the hospital (and 53% of cosmetic surgeries are not), some feel it is important to know that your doctor is qualified and has the necessary training to be accepted. The ASAPS states that "it is important to find out if the doctor has operating privileges in an accredited hospital for the same procedure you would like to have performed. Before granting operating privileges, hospital review committees evaluate a surgeon's training and competency for specific procedures. If the doctor does not have hospital privileges to perform your procedure, look for another surgeon."
The American Medical Association (AMA) will provide biographical information on 4 doctors for $60.00. Your local library may also have The American Medical Directory (published by the AMA) which lists the affiliations of its members. Write: AMA, Department of Physician Data Services, Dept. P, 515 N. State St. Chicago, Illinois 60610.
The surgical facility is also important. An ASAPS news bulletin in February 2002 states:
"Published data show that accredited office-based facilities have a safety record comparable to that of hospital ambulatory surgery settings. Ambulatory or office-based facilities should be accredited by a nationally or state-recognized accrediting agency, or be state licensed or Medicare certified."
To research a hospital setting, go to http://www.ahd.com. To research a surgical center, first ask the center who they are accredited by. They should be accredited by one of three main organizations:
1. The American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery. You can call the AAAASF at (888) 545-5222 or (847) 949-6058 or look at their website at http://www.AAAASF.org.
2. The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care. You can call the AAAHC at (847) 853-6060 or at http://www.aaahc.org.
3. The Joint commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. You can call JCAHO at (630) 792-5005 or http://www.jcaho.org.
You can also call The American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ASPRS) at (800) 635-0635 to find out which of its members have accredited surgical centers in your area.
If you have general anesthesia, be sure your anesthesiologist is certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA). You can call the ABA at (919) 881-2570 to verify certification. If your doctor uses a nurse anesthetist, call the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) at (847) 692-7050 to see if they are ANAA certified.
It is important that the emergency equipment and anesthesia monitoring devices in your surgical facility are equivalent to those in a hospital or freestanding ambulatory surgery center. You'll also want to be sure that arrangements are made for hospital admission in the event of a complication.
Arizona Board of Osteopathic Examiners in Medicine and Surgery Ann Marie Berger, Executive Director 9535 East Doubletree Ranch Road Scottsdale, AZ 85258-5539 (480) 657-7703 Fax (480) 657-7715 http://www.azosteoboard.org
Osteopathic Medical Board of California Linda J. Bergmann, Executive Director 2720 Gateway Oaks Dr., Suite 350 Sacramento, CA 95833-3500 (916) 263-3100 / Fax:(916) 263-3117 http://www.docboard.org
Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine Karen Eaton, Executive Director 4052 Bald Cypress Way, BIN C06 Tallahassee, FL 32399 (street address: Northwood Centre, 1940 N. Monroe St., 32399-0757) (850) 488-0595 / Fax:(850) 487-9874 http://www.doh.state.fl.us
Maine Board of Osteopathic Licensure Susan E. Strout, Executive Director 142 State House Station Augusta, ME 04333-0142 (207) 287-2480 (207) 287-3015 http://www.docboard.org/me-osteo< /a>
Nevada State Board of Osteopathic Medicine Larry J. Tarno, D.O., Executive Director 2860 E. Flamingo Rd., Suite G Las Vegas, NV 89121 (702) 732-2147 / Fax:(702) 732-2079
New Mexico Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners Liz Z. Montoya, Executive Director P.O. Box 25101 Santa Fe, NM 87504 (street address: 2055 S. Pacheco, Suite 400) (505) 476-7120 / Fax:(505) 476-7095 http://www.state.nm.us/rld
New York State Board for Professional Medical Conduct (Discipline) Dennis J. Graziano, Executive Director New York State Dept. of Health Office of Professional Medical Conduct 433 River St., Suite 303 Troy, NY 12180 (518) 402-0855 / Fax:(518) 402-0866 http://www.health.state.ny.us/
Oklahoma State Board of Osteopathic Examiners Gary R. Clark, Executive Director 4848 N. Lincoln Blvd, Suite 100 Oklahoma City, OK 73105-3321 (405) 528-8625 / Fax:(405) 557-0653 http://www.docboard.org
Pennsylvania State Board of Osteopathic Medicine Gina K. Bittner, Administrator P.O. Box 2649 Harrisburg, PA 17105-2649 (street address: 124 Pine St., 17101) (717) 783-4858 / Fax:(717) 787-7769 http://www.dos.state.pa.us
Utah Department of Commerce Div. of Occupational & Professional Licensure Board of Osteopathic Medicine Daniel T. Jones, Bureau Manager P.O. Box 146741 Salt Lake City, UT 84114-6741 (street address: Heber M. Wells Building, 4th Floor, 160 E 300 South, 84102) (801) 530-6628 / Fax:(801) 530-6511 http://www.commerc e.state.ut.us/dopl/dopl1/.htm
Washington State Board of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery Robert Nicoloff, Executive Director P.O Box 47870 Olympia, WA 98504-7866 (street address: 1300 SE Quince Street, 98501) (360) 236-4943 / Fax:(360) 586-0745 http://www.doh.wa.gov
