Welcome to our March newsletter, the first for 2009.

2009 marks the formation of the Australasian College of Aesthetic Medicine. A great deal of work has gone into the formation of this College, which aims to bring together medical professionals with strong academic and clinical expertise and high ethical standards. The College will provide a forum for peer group inspiration and challenge and will result in better training and higher standards in cosmetic medicine practice. The formation of the College is critical in responding to the increasing technological developments and the growth of our scientific knowledge. As leaders in the field of aesthetic medicine, we will need to ensure that the knowledge that we possess is passed on to further generations of doctors. Education and knowledge are a privilege and a responsibility for the founding Fellows of the new Australasian College of Aesthetic Medicine. The inaugural Conferring Ceremony will be held in Sydney on Saturday 12th September 2009.

In January this year, the Royal Australian College of General Practice, Quality in Practice (a subsidiary company of AGPAL, which assists in the development of quality accreditation frameworks) and the Australasian Society of Cosmetic Medicine met and wrote a draft for the Standards in Cosmetic Medicine Practices. The Standards will apply to Cosmetic Medicine Practices which are, for the purposes of accreditation, special interest medical practices offering cosmetic treatments (ie treatments that are not medically necessary to improve a person’s appearance). The Standards and accreditation will apply to practices that are supervised by a medical practitioner. They will not apply to non-medical beauty therapy clinics or hair removal clinics.

In the Standards, Cosmetic Medicine procedures are categorised by complexity and invasiveness. Category 1 and Category 2 cosmetic procedures require no general anaesthesia. They may require topical anaesthesia or nerve blocks which must be provided by a qualified doctor. Some procedures can be performed by a qualified nurse under supervision. These Category 1 and 2 procedures will be included in the Standards. However, Category 3 cosmetic procedures are beyond the scope of the Standards in Cosmetic Medicine Practices. Category 3 procedures require conscious intravenous sedation or general anaesthesia, are generally provided in accredited day surgery facilities or hospitals, and include cosmetic surgery such as breast augmentation or facelifts. A copy of the draft is available through the Members Only section of the ASCM website. Comments on the draft are invited and must be submitted prior to 27th March.

In recent news, a Code of Conduct proposed by the Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery has been rejected by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on the grounds that it fails to provide consumers with sufficient protection. The ACCC's chairman, Graeme Samuel, said disclosure requirements over practitioners' qualifications and experience were still insufficient and the code lacked a clear transparent complaints handling process. There were also concerns over the industry's use of testimonials. The consumer advocate group Choice also released its investigation into cosmetic surgery practices, which found what it described as "appalling examples of unprofessional conduct" in the industry. The investigation found that many of the clinics failed to inform the women of all the risks of surgery, the standard of proof of practitioners' qualifications was patchy and that some providers engaged in coercive behaviour to persuade the women to undergo surgery. Choice's Christopher Zinn said people considering invasive cosmetic treatments needed to be aware that the difference between a cosmetic surgeon and a plastic surgeon could be up to eight years specialist training, and the largely unregulated cosmetic surgery industry was clearly in need of stronger legislation.

On a more pleasant note, I am delighted to announce the 5th National Laser and Cosmetic Medicine Conference will be held at the Sheraton on the Park Hotel, Sydney, on the 12thand 13th of September. Dr Mitchel Goldman has agreed to be the keynote speaker. Dr Goldman, a prodigious medical researcher, has published over 250 scientific papers and textbook chapters and 18 medical textbooks. He is a Clinical Professor in Medicine and Dermatology at the University of California, San Diego, and a recent recipient of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery's 21st Century Achievement Award. There will be a 3-day introductory Cosmetic Medicine Workshop preceding the conference, and a Laser Safety Officer Course will be held in conjunction with the main conference on the Saturday and Sunday.

Our next educational meeting, on the non-surgical facelift with combination fractionated laser and thermage, will be held in Sydney on Thursday 30th April. All doctors are invited to attend.