Hospitals and clinics offering medical cosmetology services can now apply for certification to make it easier for customers to choose quality establishments, health officials said.
Department of Health Vice Minister Lin Tzou-yien (林奏延) encouraged hospitals and clinics that have been established for at least two years to apply for the certificates, which can be placed in prominent locations in the facilities so that potential customers can affirm that the surgeons offering the cosmetic procedures have received at least 100 hours of training a year.
The certification was introduced to counter a loophole in the Physicians Act (醫師法), which does not specify the qualifications needed for doctors performing cosmetic surgery, according to the Department of Health.
The program divides medical cosmetology services into three types.
The first two types are non-invasive procedures — phototherapy treatment, such as laser treatment, intense pulsed light and ultrasound, and injection treatment such as botox, hyaluronic acid and collagen.
The third type covers procedures such as liposuction, breast augmentation and hair transplants.
To make it easier for customers to recognize properly qualified personnel, Lin said, medical establishments that practice quality non-invasive micro-surgery would be given a green certificate, while those offering quality plastic surgery would receive a pink certificate.
To apply for the certificates, doctors who perform such services must be specialists in specific areas, including general surgery, plastic surgery, neurosurgery, orthopedics, and obstetrics and gynecology, he said.
Hsu Ming-neng (許銘能), director of the health department’s Bureau of Medical Affairs, said the measure is not compulsory and that interested hospitals and clinics can apply for the certificates from the Taiwan Joint Commission on Hospital Accreditation.
Hsu said the bureau would consider amending related laws to require that all doctors who perform cosmetic procedures go through the certification process.
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