Ethics in Aesthetics

The aesthetics industry is largely unregulated. Therefore every day across the world there are aesthetics treatments being performed by unqualified practitioners, treatments that are not in the patients best interest, treatments that can have a negative effect on the patients life. I thought it would be worth looking at how the 4 pillars of medical ethics relate to aesthetic medicine.   

Justice 

Fairness. Everyone has the right to be treated as an equal. Some people feel they are at a disadvantage socially and professionally because of their appearance. How we feel about our appearance affects our confidence, and ultimately our ability to engage with and collaborate with people. By treating patients to enhance their appearance and improve their confidence and mental health, we are helping to even out difference that they feel put them at a disadvantage, thereby improving fairness. 

Autonomy

The patients right to make decisions for themselves, to make their own choices. But how can patients make their own choices if they don’t know what they can choose from? One of the roles of the practitioner is to inform their patients of what treatments are available, even ones they do not offer, to allow patients the opportunity to explore their options. Patients need to be told what result to expected and over what period of time, the benefits and possible complications associated with the treatment. This essentially comes down to informed consent. The practitioner should not be trying to sell a particular treatment, they should be offering realistic outcomes and allowing the patient to make an informed choice.

Part of this decision making involves having capacity to make the decision. To have capacity a patients needs to be able to understand the information they are being given, hold it on their mind long enough to weigh up to benefits and risks, and communicate their choice back to the practitioner.  

Capacity is decision specific, and mental health problems can impact on a patients capacity to chose the right treatment. For instance, a patient with body dysmorphia might have capacity to decide what outfit they should wear to work that day, but may not be able to weight up the benefits and risks of having an aesthetic procedure that was not in their best interest. In this case it is the responsibility of the practitioner to decline a treatment request and explain why  

Beneficence 

To act in a way that helps patients, to treat patients in a way to benefit them. This is at the core of all aesthetic treatments. Patients seek aesthetic treatments because they want to improve an area about themselves that they dislike, that causes them distress and unhappiness, that affected their self confidence and ultimately their success. By treatment these patients we can help them.  

Non-maleficence

Do no harm. This principle underpins all that doctors do. It is very important that practitioners assess if a requested treatment is in the patients best interests. Taking for example the points raised around justice, the aim of aesthetic treatments is to make people look and ultimately feel better about themselves. If a treatment is not going to make a patient look AND feel better then we have to question if we should be doing it, because if we shouldn’t, it is the practitioners responsibility to decline to do the treatment and explain why. In the case of body dysmorphia, it is very unlikely that aesthetic procedures will accomplish making the patient feel better. This is why a thorough pre-treatment consultation is vital. Practitioners should ask patients about mental health problems, this is just as important as asking about allergies.

So in summary, before we treat a patient, practitioners should check in with themselves and ask, have I given enough information for my patient to give informed consent, is my patient is making the decision for themselves about what treatment to have, that I will not harm them, and that overall this will make their life happier and better. This is all about the aesthetic consultation and treating every patient individually. 

So if you’d like a free consultation at our Wilmslow clinic to discuss your aesthetics needs, click on the link below.