Coolsculpting Licensing Since It’s Noninvasive. Can Anyone Provide This Service?

CoolSculpting which is registered by the FDA as a prescriptive device, requires that a physician be in some way involved. Essentially the way things work is that if a machine is going to be sold by Zeltiq they have to verify that the device will be under the supervision of a licensed physician in the state that the device is being sold. How the physician chooses to utilize the device within his or her practice is then restricted by local laws having to do with physician extenders. Have you ever been to a pharmacy and met with a nurse practitioner or physicians assistant to get a prescription instead of going to see your primary care physician directly? Generally for a non-physician to be able to deliver the treatment the non-physician needs to be under the supervision of a licensed physician. With regards to the delivery of the treatment itself not many physicians will actually do the treatment themselves but will rather delegate the delivery of treatment to other clinicians who have been specifically trained on the delivery of these types of services.

Anyone who has a physician who can order the machine can provide coolsculpting.  The physician doesn't have to be on site or even involved.  Be careful with places that do not have their aesthetic physician on site.  Ideally, having the procedure performed at a plastic surgery practice gives you the most value for your money.  They can tell you if you're an actual candidate for coolsculpting or if you would be a better candidate for liposuction, tummy tuck, or Smartlipo or Vaser Lipo.  

I was the first plastic surgeon in the Houston area to bring on Coolsculpting. I would say with any device, there is a learning curve. Both in terms of knowing what the limitations of the device is, and gaining experience if this is something that can be delegated within a physician practice.I have found in my own practice that when I delegated completely, the results were more inconsistent. Today I am involved in every consult and draw out the treatment plan for every patient prior to their treatment. I still do many of the treatments myself depending on my schedule, but I do have a team that supports me. I would be weary of going to place where you don't see a physician or where the surgeon is not an expert in body contouring.