BACKGROUND:With a rise in demand for cosmetic dermatologic procedures comes an increase in nonphysician providers performing such procedures. However, little is known about the practice of cosmetic procedures performed by nonphysicians.
OBJECTIVE:To assess the differences in the practice of cosmetic procedures provided by physicians and nonphysicians.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:A cross-sectional analysis was performed using participant (n = 4,062) responses to an 18-point, web-based survey about previous cosmetic procedures.
RESULTS:In total, 1,328 participants reported having previous cosmetic procedures done by a physician (n = 828), a nonphysician (n = 413), or an unknown provider (n = 87). Respondents of all age ranges and male respondents (p < .001) tended to choose physicians over nonphysician providers when choosing a practice. Moderate adverse events were more frequently seen when nonphysician providers completed cosmetic procedures (p < .001). Despite a higher frequency (73.3% vs 51.8%) of more moderate complications seen in procedures done by nonphysician providers, over 70% of respondents believe that nonphysician providers are qualified enough to continue performing cosmetic procedures.
CONCLUSION:People should be encouraged to make an informed decision when choosing a provider because cosmetic procedures are still considered medical procedures.