Law Affects Ways Doctors Advertise

On business cards and in advertisements, physicians often boast their medical-board certification to demonstrate competency. But does that guarantee a well-trained doctor?

Not necessarily. But sponsors of a new state law to restrict advertising of board affiliation say this latest legislation may help.

While some specialty boards that took root outside the medical establishment have achieved mainstream legitimacy, others have been condemned by medical associations and license-enforcement agencies as “bogus,” even “phony.”

The law signed by Gov. George Deukmejian in September is designed to prevent physicians from using the names of “illegitimate” boards to advertise. Under this so-called “truth-in-advertising” law (Senate Bill 2036), physicians and surgeons can state they are board-certified only if:

* The board is recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties, an umbrella organization for 23 boards that certify physicians as specialists;

* The board is approved by the Medical Board of California;

* Or, the board has a residency program approved by the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education, an organization that accredits medical residency programs.

Medical boards that fail to meet these criteria have until January, 1993, to comply with the law.

Not everyone praises this new law.

“It is an anti-competitive bill,” said Kimberly Davey, spokeswoman for the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery, an Arcadia-based organization that certifies doctors in cosmetic surgery and has not sought recognition from the American Board of Medical Specialties.

“Plastic surgeons accredited by the American Board of Plastic Surgery (recognized by the ABMS) were trying desperately to prohibit physicians outside their organization from advertising their board certification in cosmetic surgery procedures.”

Even advocates of the new law say it is no panacea.

“Just because a physician is board-certified (by the American Board of Medical Specialists) is no guarantee a patient will have an acceptable result,” said Dr. Norman Leaf, a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon who is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and the American Board of Surgery.

And with the new law, patients must still take care in selecting specialists, said Leaf, a UCLA clinical assistant professor of plastic surgery. He suggests patients ask doctors if they are affiliated with a major teaching institution and if they have staff privileges at local community hospitals.

Doctor-shopping is another good idea, he added. “Go and meet the physician. See several doctors before deciding on one.”

Patients contemplating a specific cosmetic surgery procedure should ask the doctor how many such surgeries he or she has performed and what the results have been.

“If a doctor is performing a particular surgery 100 or more times a year, it demonstrates a high level of experience,” Davey said.