Is this even legal?

[Oxiborick]

Hey quick question...

Is it actually legal in the USA for a hair transplant clinic to not have an actual surgeon on site do anything, and instead all the work is done by a tech?

My botch transplant was done by one tech who did the whole thing. There was no actual surgeon or doctor present, though there was a nurse practitioner there in the morning. I've since learned that this is highly anomalous. (I was an uninformed idiot at the time.)

[general-etwan]

The individual taking professional responsibility for the HT needs only to have a valid medical degree and a license to practice medicine. It would seem whatever degree of hands-on involvement he or she chooses to take during the procedure is up to them, so I assume it would technically be legal to have techs perform all of the work, but certainly not very ethical for the person with the medical license not to perform any work at all. Hope someone can help clarify those specifics more and help you with your situation.

[ciaus]

 

Did they give any excuse like the doctor was ill? Does the clinic have a website with the staff listed and their medical training and credentials? There's probably going to be some legal/licensing variation depending on what state you had the work done in. Just did some quick searches on medical licensing and practice. I'd reach out to the state medical licensing board that you had the procedure performed in and tell them your story and concerns. Even some general google searches on the name of the doctor and the clinic, address of the clinic, see if you get any results for known instances of medical malpractice or scamming. Good luck and would be beneficial for others looking to get a hair transplant to give the details on the clinic and doctor so they know to avoid them.

 

https://www.acf.hhs.gov/orr/policy-guidance/u-s-medical-licensing-process

 

https://www.findmedicalassistantprograms.org/ma-scope-of-practice-by-state/

 

https://www.chartercollege.edu/news-hub/rules-you-need-know-what-medical-assistant-cancant-do

 

What a Medical Assistant Can’t Do

Although your list of responsibilities is long, there are still some duties that you won’t be allowed to carry out. These duties are not within your scope of practice and will need to be performed by medical professionals who have the proper training:

• Treat or diagnose patients
• Evaluate patients or their plan of care
• Interpret test results
• Advise patients about their medical conditions
• Administer IV medications or anesthesia
• Prescribe medication
• Perform physical therapy
• Perform invasive techniques such as colonoscopies or spinal taps
• Operate laser equipment

[Oxiborick]

29 minutes ago, general-etwan said:

The individual taking professional responsibility for the HT needs only to have a valid medical degree and a license to practice medicine. It would seem whatever degree of hands-on involvement he or she chooses to take during the procedure is up to them, so I assume it would technically be legal to have techs perform all of the work, but certainly not very ethical for the person with the medical license not to perform any work at all. Hope someone can help clarify those specifics more and help you with your situation.

Ah OK that would be the nurse practitioner who was there for a while in the morning then. Should I out her here then? I'm pretty effing angry now that I've gotten over my own "but they were my friends!" silliness.

Oh and @ciaus there's already a whole thread on this bunch. It's the "say it ain't so" thread started by me in this subforum. 

[shiba1985]

1 hour ago, Oxiborick said:

Hey quick question...

Is it actually legal in the USA for a hair transplant clinic to not have an actual surgeon on site do anything, and instead all the work is done by a tech?

My botch transplant was done by one tech who did the whole thing. There was no actual surgeon or doctor present, though there was a nurse practitioner there in the morning. I've since learned that this is highly anomalous. (I was an uninformed idiot at the time.)

No

[HappyMan2021]

Who was the surgeon? You are protecting this bad doctor, and not innocent patients, by keeping the name a secret. 

Many non-elite docs do as little as they are legally required to do, and pass off everything else to the techs. 

During your surgery they will disappear and are likely to be doing other consults, browsing their stock portfolio, or chatting on the phone with friends and family. 

If this was your 1st HT, I cant blame you for being naive and thinking the doctor would be more involved or actually, truly care about your end result. 

Let this be a lesson going forward - always ask what the doctors involvement will be when deciding on your surgeon. 

 

[Oxiborick]

10 minutes ago, HappyMan2021 said:

Who was the surgeon? You are protecting this bad doctor, and not innocent patients, by keeping the name a secret. 

Many non-elite docs do as little as they are legally required to do, and pass off everything else to the techs. 

During your surgery they will disappear and are likely to be doing other consults, browsing their stock portfolio, or chatting on the phone with friends and family. 

If this was your 1st HT, I cant blame you for being naive and thinking the doctor would be more involved or actually, truly care about your end result. 

Let this be a lesson going forward - always ask what the doctors involvement will be when deciding on your surgeon. 

 

There's already a whole thread on this wherein I expose this crew. It's worth reading the whole thing as the story just gets weirder and weirder as it goes on.

 

[Melvin- Admin]

What state did you have the procedure? In California it is illegal for a technician to score skin. 

[pkipling]

There may be different laws in place from state to state, but as Melvin mentioned, it's illegal for anyone except the surgeon to score the grafts/puncture the skin in California. I thought that was a law for the entire United States, but that may not be the case. 

[HappyMan2021]

1 hour ago, Oxiborick said:

There's already a whole thread on this wherein I expose this crew. It's worth reading the whole thing as the story just gets weirder and weirder as it goes on.

I read it but I'm still unsure the name of the actual doctor who performed surgery on you? I see the clinic was Regrow, but who was the actual doctor?

Big red flag having any surgery and not knowing the name of the surgeon. 

While I 100% emphasize with your situation and you didn't deserve this at all, I do have to say - even for a brand new hair transplant first timer - I am surprised you proceeded with such a shady clinic and not even knowing who would be performing the surgery. 

I think you should speak to a lawyer. Normally I would just say to move on, but this case seems extremely egregious since from what I can tell there is no proof an MD had any part of your surgery.

I don't have any evidence, but I'm guessing Colorado and most states would have similar laws to California. 

[Oxiborick]

Oh I didn't know they were shady. They seemed really nice and normal when I visited.

The tech that did the actual surgery was named Kate, I don't know her last name. She seemed really nice and professional. I had no inkling the work was even bad until a few days later when I posted some pictures to Reddit and even then I didn't believe it. Wasn't fully convinced until I posted here. I didn't know about McTyre until a couple days ago.

[Oxiborick]

2 hours ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

What state did you have the procedure? In California it is illegal for a technician to score skin. 

Nevada.

[Doron Harati]

USA like every Western country require by law that only an M.D can perform surgeries and anesthesia, it's illegal that a technician do it, technicians do the extractions and implanting since it's not surgical parts of the procedure.

[Oxiborick]

10 hours ago, Doron Harati said:

USA like every Western country require by law that only an M.D can perform surgeries and anesthesia, it's illegal that a technician do it, technicians do the extractions and implanting since it's not surgical parts of the procedure.

The same person, a surgical tech, did the extractions, scoring, and implanting.

[A Fue Good Men]

I believe (at least in California) an MD needs to be present in the practice and only a PA or possibly NP can score the skin. I’d def follow up with your state medical board and if there are any nonconformities, report them to the board