EDISON, NEW JERSEY – People who are considering plastic surgery tend to have a lot of questions about this type of medicine. While some of them are easy to address, others really depend on the type of procedure you are looking to have done.
Dr. Andrew Miller, an NJ rhinoplasty specialist, has put together a list of some frequently asked questions and their answers.
The idea of hackers holding electronic medical records for ransom sounds like the stuff of a final Die Hard installment. But medical hacking and biomedical fraud are growing areas of concern for the healthcare industry… and for Americans receiving medical care. Although only a few isolated cases have been spotted, the ease with which they can be committed are alarming.
In late July, an interesting story came out of Chicago’s suburbs: Hackers broke into a small medical practice’s server, encrypted patients’ electronic medical records (EMRs) and emails, and demanded a ransom. instead of paying the ransom, the Surgeons of Lake County turned the server off and called police. it is not known whether the hackers who targeted the Surgeons of Lake County also extorted other businesses–but federal-mandated HIPAA records indicate 37 hospitals and doctors’ offices nationwide have been hacked since 2009, resulting in the theft or damage of patients’ medical records. The HIPAA records do not count hacks in which less than 500 patients’ information was stolen or damaged, or cases in which only credit card or checking account information was stolen. In addition, they only count voluntary disclosures of successful hacking attacks. Due to these restrictions, the true number of hospitals targeted is likely higher.
Following the theft of Surgeons’ medical records, their office issued a press release and, in a mea culpa, offered free credit monitoring services to patients. Confidential medical information, credit card numbers, social security numbers, and home addresses belonging to the medical practice’s patients were all lifted during the hack.
EMRs, the same electronic health records stolen in the Illinois case, help streamline health care, minimize mistakes, and make–in most cases–the lives of patients and healthcare providers much easier. But they can also be stolen for credit card fraud or for healthcare theft. Healthcare theft is a growing criminal field, often tied to organized crime, in which uninsured patients use a stolen identity belong to another person for healthcare reasons. These include forged prescriptions for drugs, inpatient or outpatient care, or fraudulent healthcare lawsuits. The criminal gets the medical care; some poor schmoe and their insurance company receive the bill. At the very least, the victim has to deal with time-consuming piles of paperwork to resolve the problem. more often, credit records and access to healthcare are effectively ruined.
According to the HIPAA records, nearly 21 million Americans have had their EMRs stolen or lost since 2009. The largest single theft was from TRICARE, the Defense Department’s civilian healthcare program for Armed Forces members, retirees, and their dependents. In 2011, 4.9 million TRICARE members’ EMRs entered into the public sphere after one of their subcontractors lost a huge cache of back-up tapes. The tapes contained sensitive personal data such as clinical notes, laboratory test results, and prescriptions.
In may 2012, federal prosecutors charged a medical technician at Washington’s Howard University Medical Center with the systematic theft of patients’ personal information, including Medicaid ID numbers. this information was then sold to third parties. Shortly after the Howard University theft was announced, the Utah Health Department announced a massive data breach–Eastern European hackers had stolen 280,000 Utah residents’ personal identification, social security numbers, diagnosis information, and medical billing information. Financial information such as credit card numbers or checking account numbers were not compromised. however, a much more worrying–and dangerous–form of medical hacking is creating counterfeit medical devices or hacking existing ones. Counterfeit medical devices are a huge problem; according to the World Health Organization, 8% of medical devices worldwide were counterfeit as of 2010. Although the counterfeit insulin pumps, condoms, contact lenses, and surgical equipment are mainly found abroad, many find their way Stateside due to insecure supply chains.
The Food and Drug Administration has been circumspect about counterfeit medical devices being found in the United States. however, their British counterparts the MHRA have publicly warned about the risk of counterfeit devices, saying “most UK cases have involved the supply of counterfeit devices direct to consumers rather than healthcare professionals, through small retail outlets.”
For the federal government, monitoring counterfeit medical devices and their infiltration of American stores and hospitals is an issue. Benjamin Jun, Cryptography Research‘s CTO and a specialist in supply chain counterfeiting issues, told Fast Company that due to the nature of the supply chain for medical devices and accessories, unauthorized and counterfeit devices occasionally appear on the American market.
Medical devices themselves can also be hacked. Dale Nordenberg, a managing director at Pricewaterhousecoopers’ Health Industries groups and former CIO for the Centers for Disease Control, has repeatedly warned of the risk of medical device hacking. At the Amphion Forum, a July conference for the security community in Washington, computer security expert and diabetic Jay Radcliffe demonstrated how he discovered critical security lapses in Medtronic insulin pumps that could let hackers remotely kill patients by manipulating the amount of insulin pumped. By manipulating insulin pumps remotely, criminals could kill or seriously injure targets; their crime, meanwhile, would be likely to escape detection from law enforcement unaware insulin pumps could be hacked. Radcliffe successfully hacked his own insulin pump and discovered massive loopholes for cybercriminals. Radcliffe first demonstrated the hack at the 2011 Defcon in Las Vegas.
Kevin Fu, a professor at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, conducted research that discovered many medical devices use poorly developed code that often leads to deaths, injuries, or security lapses. there is no cross-medical industry protocol for coding QA and testing; as a result, software holes often aren’t discovered until equipment fails in the field.
Electronic medical record theft is already commonplace, while poorly designed medical technology and counterfeit devices create new opportunities for 21st century criminals. As the incident in Illinois and Radcliffe’s self-hack prove, criminals already have the tools for ambitious medical crimes… the question is what happens next.
For more stories like this, follow @fastcompany on Twitter. Find Neal Ungerleider, the author of this article, on Twitter and Google+.
a notable plastic surgeon who transforms Hollywood’s rich and famous also allegedly filmed them nude without their consent. he now faces serious charges that could land him in jail for two years and on the registry of sex offenders for the rest of his life.
Lance Everett Wyatt, 42, of Sherman Oaks covertly videotaped his patients as they undressed, according to authorities. The Los Angeles plastic surgeon faces six misdemeanor charges.
The allegations against Wyatt – director of the Wyatt Center for Plastic Surgery and the Institut d’Esthetique – include unlawful filming of another person, unlawful viewing of another person, sexual battery on a patient and unlawful use of force and violence, according to the Medical Board of California.
during a post-operative exam, a patient noticed a video camera recording her undressing. She brought the camera to the police, triggering a year-long investigation by the attorney’s office and California’s Medical Board, reports KTLA.
City Attorney Carmen a. Trutanich announced the accusations against Wyatt on Thursday. "Patients deserve to feel safe and secure while in the care of their physician," Trutanich said in a press release. "our charges allege that Dr. Wyatt violated that sacred trust and he should be held accountable."
upon reviewing the video footage, the L.a. Attorney’s special victims section saw Wyatt allegedly touching at least one patient inappropriately, prompting the sexual battery charge.
Linda Whitney, executive director of the Medical Board, is dedicated to protecting patients from such conduct violations. "The mission of the Medical Board is public protection," she said, "and this action reflects the Board’s ongoing commitment."
Wyatt’s credentials are impressive, to say the least. he was a clinical fellow in surgery at the Harvard Medical School and the chief resident in the Harvard Combined Plastic Surgery Residency Training Program. throughout the 1990s, he worked at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, where he received his medical degree. His peer-reviewed literature has appeared in worldwide forums and he has authored six textbook chapters, according to his website.
EBONY Magazine listed Wyatt as one of the 50 Leaders of Tomorrow. Wyatt has appeared on multiple television programs, such as "The Doctors" and "20/20."
[24-7 press release] — Maintaining a youthful, attractive appearance is important to today’s business people. both men and women have long looked to solutions such as BOTOX Cosmetic to reduce the appearance of lines, wrinkles, and deep creases from almost every area of their face and neck. one of the largest advantages BOTOX Cosmetic offers is the quickness with which it can be performed. Add to that minimal to no recovery time, and you can easily get BOTOX Cosmetic during your lunch hour without anyone from the office being the wiser. Trust a Cosmetic Expert when you are looking at BOTOX Cosmetic, your choice of treatment centers will play an important role in your results. taking time to choose an experienced, board-certified facial plastic surgeon can not only increase the likelihood of pleasing results, it can also minimize your risks of complications and ensure that your treatment is as quick and painless as possible. there are several spas that offer BOTOX Cosmetic. when you make an appointment with a spa, you have no idea who will be providing your injections. By contrast, when you choose a board-certified facial plastic surgeon, you know your injections will be provided by someone who has both medical training and a keen understanding of the delicate nuances of facial features. Choosing the right plastic surgeon for your treatment can see you in and out of the office in less than 30 minutes with the only indication you’ve had a procedure the noticeably younger, more attractive face you present – and possibly some mild redness and swelling, which is usually easily concealed with cosmetics. Schedule Lunchtime BOTOX A lunchtime BOTOX Cosmetic treatment can be scheduled every three to four months to help ensure your results remain consistent. Should you choose to discontinue your lunchtime appointments, you will simply continue to age naturally, with no indication that you have ever had a BOTOX Cosmetic treatment. Time is money, but equally important is discretion. Choosing to have any facial rejuvenation procedure is a personal decision. Choosing to have your lunchtime BOTOX Cosmetic treatment at a plastic surgeon’s office helps ensure your secret remains safe. You deserve the best treatment possible. A board-certified facial plastic surgeon will have the experience and knowledge to provide you with a targeted treatment, tailored to meet your exact needs. if you live in or around Houston, Katy, Sugar Land, or The Woodlands, Texas and would like more information on BOTOX Cosmetic or other nonsurgical facial rejuvenation procedures, please visit the website of The Belage Center for Facial Plastic Surgery to see the many safe, effective procedures we offer to our patients at www.houstonfacialsurgeon.com.
If you’re thinking about having plastic surgery, a new study shows you might forego Botox, liposuction or breast implants and instead choose a chin augmentation. Now men and women both are seeking chin implants, which might be spawned by exposure to video technology, which gives people a chance to really see their own facial flaws. A new study shows men and women over age 20 want strong jawlines to maintain a youthful look and because they feel it can make them more successful in the workplace. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) says chin implants are now the hottest trend in cosmetic surgery, especially among people over age 40.
It seems a strong jawline is a characteristic of many CEO’s. Darrick Antell, MD, an ASPS Member Surgeon based in New York City who studies profiles of executives in the workplace said in a press release, “We know that CEOs tend to be tall, attractive, good-looking people. we now know that these people also tend to have a stronger chin. As a result, people subconsciously associate a stronger chin with more authority, self-confidence and trustworthiness.”
Some people don’t like the way video technology that is now widely used to connect with others in the workplace makes them look, so they turn to plastic surgery for a remedy.
The trend started in 2010 and has been steadily growing. Chin implant popularity is up 71% in two years. The procedure is more popular among men, according to the new statistical report. Roughly 20,700 Americans had the procedure, which takes 1 to 3 hours, in 2011.
Lizette Stephens who manages a software company had her ‘chinplant’ done exactly because she didn’t like seeing herself on video chat.
“It really, really bothered me,” Stephens said. “I wanted to do something about it to get a more profound profile and more definition in my chin area.”
Cheek implants also seem to be popular; rates were up 47% last year. other statistics from the report show a 5% rise in facelifts; 7% increase in procedures using fillers for lines and wrinkles and a 9% bump in laser skin resurfacing. Lip augmentation saw a 49% increase.
Plastic surgery seems to be a booming business, with chin implants gaining widespread popularity in a competitive workplace. The desire to reach CEO status, combined with the ability to see ourselves on video chat seems to be driving the trend. Dr. Malcolm Z. Roth, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, said in a written statement, “The chin and jawline are among the first areas to show signs of aging.”
How has the economy affected patients’ plastic surgery procedure choices? Two surveys conducted last year, one to patients and one to physicians, revealed that many patients are delaying facial plastic surgery (facelift, eyelid surgery, facial implants) by opting for less-costly nonsurgical options (botox, fillers, chemical peels) due to the recession.that may be no surprise; however, what physicians didn’t realize was that cost and immediate results were not the priority for their patients – long-lasting results were most important.
Full results of the two surveys were published in the September 2011 issue of Aesthetic Surgery Journal, and “show that [surgeons] should be aware of our patients’ desires when it comes to nonsurgical cosmetic procedures,” said Editor in Chief, Foad Nahai in a press release.
Chin up, people. The percentage of Americans getting plastic surgery on their chins jumped 71% last year, a trend doctors attribute partly to the popularity of video chatting.
In 2011, 20,680 people in the U.S. got chin augmentation – 10,087 women and 10,593 men.
The procedure saw a huge increase across all age groups, with the over-55 set leading the way.
"The chin and jawline are among the first areas to show signs of aging. People are considering chin augmentation as a way to restore their youthful look just like a facelift or eyelid surgery," said Dr. Malcolm Z. Roth, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, in a press release.
"we also know that as more people see themselves on video chat technology, they may notice that their jawline is not as sharp as they want it to be. Chin implants can make a dramatic difference.
Plastic surgery patient Lizette Stephens, a software company manager, agreed.
"I do a lot of video chats and I’m in a lot of photos and noticed that my double chin was very pronounced. it really, really bothered me. I wanted to do something about it to get a more profound profile and more definition in my chin area," she said.
Men, meanwhile, tend to seek the chiselled cartoon-superhero look.
"we know that CEOs tend to be tall, attractive, good-looking people. we now know that these people also tend to have a stronger chin. as a result, people subconsciously associate a stronger chin with more authority, self-confidence and trustworthiness," said cosmetic surgeon Dr. Darrick Antell,
Chins aren’t the only body parts getting nipped and tucked more than ever. in 2011, lip augmentation saw a 49% increase, cheek implants 47%, laser skin resurfacing 9%, soft tissue fillers 7% and facelifts 5%.
“The chin and jawline are among the first areas to show signs of aging. People are considering chin augmentation as a way to restore their youthful look just like a facelift or eyelid surgery,” said ASPS President Malcolm Z. Roth, MD, in a press release. “We also know that as more people see themselves on video chat technology, they may notice that their jawline is not as sharp as they want it to be. Chin implants can make a dramatic difference.”
Dr. Mehmet Oz advised those interested in the procedure to proceed with caution: he told TODAY’s Matt Lauer that there’s a 5 to 7 percent chance of infection with the surgery, and recommended thouroughly researching the doctor — and your motivations.
“Ask the soul-searching question: am I happy, or am I doing this to make me happy?” he told TODAY. “Because the latter is not a good way to go.”
The most common after-effects, according to the NIH, are bruising, swelling (for 3-4 months), and movement of the implant.
Other facial procedures also increased: lip augmentation rose 49 percent; cheek implants 47 percent, and laser skin resurfacing 9 percent.
“I do a lot of video chats and I’m in a lot of photos and noticed that my double chin was very pronounced. It really, really bothered me. I wanted to do something about it to get a more profound profile and more definition in my chin area,” Lizette Stephens said in a press release. Stephens received a chin implant from Darrick Antell, MD, an ASPS Member Surgeon based in New York City.
Antell said Stephens’ situation is common.
“We know that CEOs tend to be tall, attractive, good-looking people,” he said in the release. “We now know that these people also tend to have a stronger chin. as a result, people subconsciously associate a stronger chin with more authority, self-confidence and trustworthiness.”
[PRWeb press release] — Dr. Anna Petropoulos of The new England Facial & Cosmetic Surgery Center says changes she has seen in her Boston area BOTOX Cosmetic patients support the findings of a study recently published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research. The study found a positive correlation between the use of botulinum toxin to treat the glabellar region of the face and a temporary reduction in depression. Dr. Petropoulos says she sees similar results in some of her patients who receive treatment with BOTOX in the Boston area. "BOTOX, which was the first FDA-approved medication to treat glabellar lines, has a number of benefits aside from smoothing skin along the forehead," Dr. Petropoulos says. "Patients who have BOTOX treatments 2 or 3 times a year often find that they feel more confident and happy with their appearance. this makes them feel better about themselves and thus happier with life in general. Simply put, when you look good, you feel good. "since patients aren’t able to frown fully, the brain is unable to complete the anger response neural pathway and thus thinks that it is neutral or happy. People often say they feel much happier and even find improvement with their migraines just with simple Botox treatments for wrinkles." Dr. Petropoulos offers a wide range of injectable treatments for facial rejuvenation. in addition to BOTOX, she provides injectable fillers such as JUV
Posted by Andrew Miller on May 23, 2012
(Shutterstock)
