With the increase in medical spa procedures, and the American consumer's obsession with not aging, we are not only seeing a 45% growth in nonsurgical cosmetic procedures, (from 2003 to 2005 according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery), but we are also seeing a growth in 'nuisance claims'. According to Wikipedia; Nuisance signifies that the right of quiet enjoyment is being disrupted to such a degree that a tort is being committed. Tort is defined as a legal term in common law jurisdictions referring to a civil wrong recognized by private law as providing a cause of action in court and entitling the injured party to a remedy, usually damages. In non-surgical procedures the patient expectations can be so unrealistic that depending on the education, published materials and disclaimers used in your MedSpa you could be providing an environment for 'nuisance claims'.
Is your Spa adequately insured to defend these claims? Nuisance claims tend to transform into expensive, time-consuming & emotionally drawing lawsuits. Being properly insured is important but having the proper documents and process in place, not creating unrealistic and sometimes impossible expectations, and constantly educating your clients/patients is just as important.
The most common mistakes occur with laser hair removal, usually burns. This is a direct result of lack of training or experience. It is very important for physicians and the staff performing these services to attend continuing education seminars, hands-on workshops, and have a testing or certification process in place in which competency needs to be demonstrated before turning them loose on a patient. Consent Forms are very important, they should include ALL the potential risks and outcomes and they should be completely reviewed with the patient before performing the procedure, documenting in their file that you reviewed all this information and that the client still agreed to have the procedure is crucial. From an insurance standpoint before and after pictures are key in the event of a claim.
One more thing to consider, if you are working as a Medical Director make sure that the existing policy is not just a malpractice policy that only covers the treating physician. Talk to the insurance agent agent and find out if you have coverage for the spa's legal entity; coverage for the owners; coverage for the staff and coverage for you as a supervisory Medical Director, and make sure the policy has 'vicarious liability'. According to Legal explanations.com, a 'vicarious liability can be defined as the liability created by an action or not action by a person, working on behalf of him when he is responsible for all the action or inaction of such persons within the limits of their association.' In other words, when an employee or worker causes a loss to somebody in the normal course of his duty then the employer would be responsible for such loss. Consider the possibility of a physician delegating the treating duties with very negative results; the patient will most likely sue everyone (and the entity) that had a hand in the treatment. If the doctor and the spa are properly insured, the insurance carrier will probably provide great legal defense.
As a sustaining member of The International Medical Spa Association, I encourage you to visit the website and learn more about the resources and information they provide. They have resources that can help you figure out if you have the right kind of policy for your medical spa facility, if you have the proper policies and procedures in place and it also keeps you informed on the latest legislation concerning the Medical Spa world.
Stay tuned........
Written by Zahira J Coll, all rights reserved, the content of this article, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author.
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