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STOP BY OUR BOOTH #340 AT THE PLASTIC SURGERY 2008 SHOW!
ONE OUT OF EVERY 66 PATIENTS
Your patients know that elective plastic surgery is not covered by health insurance, but they may
not know that most health insurance policies exclude the coverage of complications due to elective
plastic surgery. According to data collected from CosmetAssure*, one out of every 66 patients
require treatment for a complication, which is much more common than we all had previously
thought.
TRANSFER AGREEMENTS
As you well know, when performing a surgical procedure in an ambulatory surgical center or
accredited office setting you are required to have a transfer agreement with a hospital. During that
transfer physicians often do not consider the financial impact on our patients who must be
transferred or re-operated on due to complications.
BEWARE OF BLEEDING!
The most frequent complication of elective cosmetic surgery is excessive blood loss, which results
in approximately 39% of all CosmetAssure claims. These numbers should be alarming enough to
justify discussion of this complication with your patients. Make certain all patients have discontinued
the use of all prescription and non-prescription medications, which can increase bleeding, including
aspirin, ibuprofen, vitamin E and many herbal supplements.
TUMMY TUCKS CAN BE A BIG PROBLEM
While hematoma is the most frequent complication, an abdominoplasty, either alone or paired with
other surgical procedures, results in the highest probability of medical complications, about 33% of
all CosmetAssure claims. While you are planning for postoperative care for your abdominoplasty
patients, consider scheduling an overnight stay in the hospital or observational facility for
monitoring prior to going home, especially if significant travel is involved.
PAUSING FOR SAFETY
CosmetAssure assisted the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery with the creation of the Surgical PAUSE poster for your operating room. It is a checklist for you to make sure you have "all your bases covered" before the start of each and every case. Members can receive one free from
ASAPS central office by calling (562) 799-2356.
*CosmetAssure data has been collected through inception of the program beginning in July 2003.
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