Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Hi. I'm Dr. David Reath. And we're talking about this week's Truth-O-Meter
Tuesday question. The topic that we've brought up is complications
following cosmetic surgery. Thankfully, these are not very common.
But it's not right to think that it could not happen after a cosmetic operation, even
though it's totally elective and most of our patients are very healthy.
But with any surgical encounter, there could be a complication such as bleeding, or something
that needs additional treatment. And the question is, who pays for that treatment?
Unfortunately, since these operations are totally elective and cosmetic , most medical
insurances will not cover for the cost of caring for complications directly resulting
from the procedure itself. Sometimes if there's a larger medical problem
going on, they will cover that. But it's kind of a crapshoot.
You don't know, and you won't know until after the fact.
We have started to participate with a program known as CosmetAssure, and right now we're
the only plastic surgeon in Knoxville doing it. It's a
program that has been promoted by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, and one that
my good friend Phil Hayke--who is our next president--has been involved with for a while.
Essentially this is a short term insurance policy that is taken out on behalf of the
patients where complications that occur within the first 30 days after surgery will be paid
for. So basically this is a patient's safety net.
You won't fall between the cracks if something happens, and for me as a physician, this is
tremendous peace of mind. Because if there's something that goes on all I have to focus
on is what's best to take care of the patient. I don't have to worry about who's going to
end up paying the bill. So the answer to this week's question would
be false or mostly false. And our winner this week is Jennifer Bostic.
So you, Jennifer, win a $100 gift certificate. Please come in and pick that up in our office,
and we look forward to seeing you. For everyone else who played this week, thank
you very much and I look forward to talking to you next week.