Commentary on: A Comparative Analysis of Readmission Rates After Outpatient Cosmetic Surgery

Abstract

We live in an era of increasing scrutiny of our medical practices by various governmental agencies at the local, state, and federal levels and by the public through access to governmental statistics and social media “surveys” and reviews. Public disclosure of “quality” data is a key component of health care reform efforts. As a result, the burden on all health care providers—from hospitals to individual physicians—to provide mandatory data has increased dramatically. Data on aesthetic surgery are less important to governmental data collectors because payment for these procedures usually is not provided by governmental programs (eg, Medicare, Medicaid) or third-party health insurance. Even though the stated goal of health care reform is to improve quality …