THE Main Credentialing & Privileging Committee of Aesthetic Medical Practice, which consists of doctors from the Health Ministry’s medical practice division, aesthetic medical practitioners, dermatologists, and plastic surgeons, has been tasked to regulate aesthetic medical practices in Malaysia. 

To ensure public safety and to uphold professional standards, a set of guidelines on aesthetic medical practice was developed and implemented in June 2013. With the implementation of these guidelines, only medical practitioners with an LCP (Letter of Credentialing and Privileging) are allowed to carry out aesthetic medical procedures. These procedures should also be performed in a licensed medical facility equipped with sterilised equipment and an emergency trolley. They should not be performed in a beauty centre or a person’s home.

There have been instances where doctors have performed aesthetic procedures outside their expertise or have not conformed to codes of ethical conduct which has resulted in complications. However, many of these cases have been highlighted through proper regulations and enforcement that are in place. This has helped to identify the offending doctors and allowed appropriate disciplinary actions to be taken. 

Then there is the question of non-medical practitioners. First and foremost, they are not medical doctors and have no medical training. For the most part, for them, there are no educational requirements, uniform professional standards or codes of conduct to be met. There is no governing body to whom the public can direct their complaints and concerns. These practitioners are not regulated by any external national body or organisation. 

The recent tragic death of a young model following a liposuction procedure by a non-medical practitioner at a beauty centre is an example of the dire consequences of procedures carried out by a non-medical practitioner.

Medical doctors are taught to take precautions to minimise the risk of complications and are trained to recognise and deal with complications that inevitably occur sometimes. They are licensed to prescribed relevant medications such as antibiotics if infections do occur. They can perform CPR should an anaphylactic reaction occur following an allergic reaction to an anaesthetic drug. A non-medical practitioner simply cannot do all these things.

Persatuan Dermatologi Malaysia urges regulatory bodies and the government to come together to regulate aesthetic practices among  non medical practitioners i.e the beauticians. Non-medical practitioners should be prohibited from carrying out any invasive procedures especially when it involves any injections of a drug. To quote our director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah in the article, Guidelines of aesthetic medical practice for medical practitioners (NST, August 26, 2019): “Beauticians or those with no medical qualifications could not inject dermal fillers or perform thread lift procedures”.

So how does one know how to access aesthetic procedures from a qualified medical practitioner? Here are some tips: 
• Refer to the MOH website.
• Cheap does not always mean value for money! If the consultations and treatments are cheap, the quality of the equipment and the experience of the provider may be questionable.
• Never believe what you read online! Always remember that ethical medical professionals do not advertise themselves by using testimonials on their websites. 
• Trust your instinct! If something doesn’t feel right about the place or person, just walk away. – October 27, 2020.

* Dr Noor Zalmy Azizan is Persatuan Dermatologi Malaysia president and Main Credentialing and Aesthetic Medical Practice committee member.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.