Going to a properly qualified injector to perform injectable procedures is so important, and now one state is doing something about it.
Last week, the Nevada Senate Health and Human Services Committee heard Las Nevada SB10, a bill introduced by Nevada state senator Joe Hardy to prevent medical assistants, aestheticians and dental hygienists from injecting botulinum toxin and soft tissue fillers. The bill does not affect specially trained nurses.
“Botox and fillers are becoming increasingly popular across the country,” says Las Vegas plastic surgeon Goesel Anson, MD, who testified in support of the bill. “Their popularity and financial incentives attract medical and non-medical practitioners. As a consequence, many states are seeing the need to evaluate which professionals have appropriate background and training. I have a great deal of respect for medical assistants, aestheticians and dental hygienists and consider them very important members of a professional team, but they should not be considered qualified to perform medical procedures outside the scope of their training.”
As Dr. Anson stresses, the issue is not simply a turf battle. “It really is a patient safety issue. I have been referred multiple serious complications after injectable treatments by unqualified injectors including infections and tissue damage. Of course, there are risks even with experienced injectors. In my view, that makes it even more important to keep the odds on the side of patient safety.”
