{"title":"Evaluating Board Certification Within the Aesthetic Marketplace.","authors":"Shirley Chen, William C Lineaweaver","doi":"10.1097/SAP.0000000000004056","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Unlike most health care sectors, patients can select an aesthetic surgery provider without considering insurance coverage. Patients therefore must be able to make informed choices regarding provider selection. Surgeon qualifications are part of the data patients evaluate in their decision making. To characterize the provider landscape that patients face, this study compares the certification requirements of various boards within the aesthetic marketplace.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Four boards were identified for analysis based on a Google search of \"board of plastic surgery\": the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS), the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery (ABCS), the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ABFPRS), and the American Board of Facial Cosmetic Surgery (ABFCS). Information on certification requirements was obtained from each board's official website.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>ABPS requires that diplomates complete an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited plastic surgery residency, pass a written and oral examination that includes a case collection, and meet continual standards to maintain certification. ABCS and ABFCS both require an American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (AACS) cosmetic surgery fellowship and passage of a written and oral examination. Neither board has case collection or continuing certification requirements. ABFPRS requires completion of either an ACGME-accredited otolaryngology or plastic surgery residency. Its examination process includes written and oral components as well as a case log. ABFPRS has enacted continuing certification requirements for diplomates credentialed in 2001 and later. ABPS is the only board that is a member of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>ABPS stands apart as the only board within the aesthetic marketplace with rigorous standards for precertification training, demonstrating competency through examinations and case logs, and maintaining certification. Being an ABMS member board also contributes to ABPS being the preeminent organization for identifying physicians who practice safe, effective aesthetic surgery.</p>","PeriodicalId":8060,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Plastic Surgery","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.4000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Annals of Plastic Surgery","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1097/SAP.0000000000004056","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"SURGERY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Unlike most health care sectors, patients can select an aesthetic surgery provider without considering insurance coverage. Patients therefore must be able to make informed choices regarding provider selection. Surgeon qualifications are part of the data patients evaluate in their decision making. To characterize the provider landscape that patients face, this study compares the certification requirements of various boards within the aesthetic marketplace.
Methods: Four boards were identified for analysis based on a Google search of "board of plastic surgery": the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS), the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery (ABCS), the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ABFPRS), and the American Board of Facial Cosmetic Surgery (ABFCS). Information on certification requirements was obtained from each board's official website.
Results: ABPS requires that diplomates complete an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited plastic surgery residency, pass a written and oral examination that includes a case collection, and meet continual standards to maintain certification. ABCS and ABFCS both require an American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (AACS) cosmetic surgery fellowship and passage of a written and oral examination. Neither board has case collection or continuing certification requirements. ABFPRS requires completion of either an ACGME-accredited otolaryngology or plastic surgery residency. Its examination process includes written and oral components as well as a case log. ABFPRS has enacted continuing certification requirements for diplomates credentialed in 2001 and later. ABPS is the only board that is a member of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS).
Conclusions: ABPS stands apart as the only board within the aesthetic marketplace with rigorous standards for precertification training, demonstrating competency through examinations and case logs, and maintaining certification. Being an ABMS member board also contributes to ABPS being the preeminent organization for identifying physicians who practice safe, effective aesthetic surgery.
期刊介绍:
The only independent journal devoted to general plastic and reconstructive surgery, Annals of Plastic Surgery serves as a forum for current scientific and clinical advances in the field and a sounding board for ideas and perspectives on its future. The journal publishes peer-reviewed original articles, brief communications, case reports, and notes in all areas of interest to the practicing plastic surgeon. There are also historical and current reviews, descriptions of surgical technique, and lively editorials and letters to the editor.