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LEGAL ISSUES | By Padraic B. Deighan, JD, PhD Responding to Ethics Complaints Physicians facing or at risk of facing ethical violations are required to self-report allegations. ethical issues arise out of unrealistic patient expectations. Avoiding certain patients from the outset will substantially lower your risk of allegations. Patients often complain to a medical board because they are unhappy with their result and they feel this is the provider���s fault. In regard to patients, you must document every appointment and discussion of care in the chart and it is in your best interest to document it immediately, not a week later. Another signi���cant source of ethical violations is advertising and marketing messages, particularly for procedures that are ���off-label.��� Ethical complaints can also arise from conduct in your personal life, particularly criminal offenses, and the trend is toward more scrutiny. Reducing the Risks State Medical Board Requirements The ���rst consideration in this discussion is patient selection. If your instincts tell you that a particular patient may expect too much or have unrealistic expectations, do not treat her. I advise providers that, ���it is not the patients that you treat that will make you successful, it is the patients you choose not to treat that will make you successful.��� Marketing 101 dictates that it takes 10 successful patients to get one referral, but it takes only one disgruntled patient to lose 10 patients. Many 20 MARCH/APRIL 2013 | MedEsthetics There is a potentially damaging ethical issue that many aesthetic providers fail to consider: You have a duty to disclose to your state medical board and certi���cation board any conduct that may become an ethical issue in the future. In other words, if something occurs in the of���ce that may put you in an ethical conundrum, you have to report it. Failure to report can give rise to additional sanctions or loss �� ISTOCKPHOTO.COM Due to the nature of elective, cosmetic procedures, medical aesthetic providers face a higher risk of professional liability and ethical allegations than many other medical specialties. These allegations can come from a variety of sources, including advertising and marketing messages, dissatis���ed patients and even conduct unrelated to your practice of medicine, such as a drunken driving violation. Attorneys that represent disgruntled patients in professional negligence matters will often suggest that the patient ���le an ethics violation ���rst. This can be used to bolster claims of negligence in the liability suit. Accordingly, it is important that medical aesthetic providers understand how to reduce the risk of complaints and what action must be taken in the event of an ethics charge.