Healthcare Compliance and Laser Treatments – Part One

Lasers are used in many different types of medical specialties to provide precise, efficient, and minimally invasive treatments. The medical practices including medical spas that use these procedures need to understand the healthcare compliance issues that affect the use of these treatments such as which medical providers can provide the treatments, what supervision is necessary, and when medical providers can refer their patients to other medical providers who provide laser treatments and therapies.

Laser is an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation, “a process that produces a concentrated beam of coherent light.” Some of the scientific characteristics of lasers include “specific wavelengths, power outputs, and pulse durations” that target specific tissues to achieve specific therapeutic outcomes.

What are the different types of medical lasers?

The different types of medical lasers include:

• “CO₂Lasers: Emit infrared light and are primarily used for cutting and vaporizing tissues with high precision.
• Nd:YAG Lasers:Utilize neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet crystals to produce light suitable for deeper tissue penetration.
• Excimer Lasers:Emit ultraviolet light and are commonly used in eye surgeries like LASIK.
• Diode Lasers:Compact and efficient, used in various applications, including dental procedures and hair removal.”

What are the different applications for using lasers?

Lasers are useful in the following types of medical practices and procedures:

Surgery

Laser technology helps reduce bleeding, scarring, and the time patients need to recover. “In general surgery, lasers are employed for cutting, coagulating, and ablating tissues with high precision.” Illustrative surgical uses of laser technology include:

• Gastrointestinal surgery. Lasers help remove tumors and polyps with minimal damage to surrounding tissues.
• Urological procedures. Lasers help treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) by effectively reducing the size of a patient’s prostate.
• Cardiac surgery. Laser technology helps provide precision in heart procedures such as endoscopic valve repair.

Lasers also help to reduce the “risk of infection and complications, leading to improved patient outcomes and shorter hospital stays.”

Dermatology and Aesthetic Medicine

Laser and phototherapy treatments are used by medical spas and other medical practices that provide skin care and aesthetic medicine.

According to Open MedScience, some of the many different cosmetic and therapeutic uses of laser technology include:

• Resurfacing skin. “CO₂and Erbium lasers remove damaged skin layers, promoting collagen production and reducing wrinkles.”
• Removing tattoos. “Q-switched lasers break down tattoo pigments, allowing the body to eliminate them naturally.”
• Removing skin. “Diode and Nd:YAG lasers target hair follicles, inhibiting future hair growth with minimal discomfort.”
• Treatment of vascular lesions. “Pulsed dye lasers effectively treat conditions like rosacea and port-wine stains by targeting blood vessels.”

Ophthalmology. Precision Eye Surgery

Lasers are useful for many types of eye surgeries including the following:

• LASIK (Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis) procedures. This laser procedure helps to improve vision by reshaping the cornea – reducing a patient’s need to use glasses or contact lenses.
• Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK). This laser treatment removes the corneal epithelium “before reshaping,” It is suitable for patients with “thinner corneas.”
• Laser cataract surgery. Many older patients, and some younger, need surgery to remove cataracts that cause cloudy vision. This type of surgery uses “femtosecond lasers to create precise incisions and fragment the lens, enhancing the accuracy of cataract removal.”
• Treatment for glaucoma. “Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty (SLT) increases fluid drainage from the eye, reducing intraocular pressure.”

Laser eye surgeries are now a common ophthalmic procedure due to their predictability and precision.

Dental treatments

Dentists use laser technology in the following ways:

• Cavity detection. Lasers can help detect tooth decay in its early stages and remove tissue that has decayed.
• Treatment for gum disease. Laser technology helps remove infected gum tissue and helps with the healing process – reducing the need for standard scalpel-based surgeries.
• Teeth Whitening. Dentists use laser-assisted bleaching to provide quicker and more noticeable teeth whitening.
• Oral Surgery. “Lasers facilitate precise incisions and tissue removal in procedures like frenectomies and biopsies, often resulting in less post-operative pain.”

It is never fun going to the dentist. Laser technology helps increase patient comfort and reduces the time necessary for healing – along with improving the overall efficiency of the treatments.

What are the benefits and dangers of medical laser use?

Some of the benefits of laser technology in the practice of medicine include the following:

• With lasers, physicians can target tissues with a high degree of accuracy – limiting damage to surrounding areas.
• Minimally invasive. Because laser technology is less invasive (smaller incisions), there is a lower risk of infection and faster recovery times.
• Less bleeding. “The coagulative properties of certain lasers reduce blood loss during surgeries.”
• Laser technology has many different medical applications.
• Enhanced recovery. Lasers help patients recover quicker with less pain and less scarring.

Some of the limitations of using laser technology include the following:

• Medical practices need to spend more on the initial investment and maintenance than on other treatments.
• Training Requirements. Medical practices need to train their staff to ensure they have the proper experience, education, and expertise.
• Tissue Interaction. Improper laser technology can cause “unintended tissue damage or adverse reactions.”
• Limited use. Laser treatment is not a viable option for many types of medical procedures.
• Regulatory Hurdles. Doctors and healthcare practices need to understand the full range of compliance issues they must address to ensure the safety of their patients and protect their medical practice.

Some of the future uses for laser technology, according to Open MedScience, include the following:

• Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI). When lasers are combined with robotics and AI, the combination “can enhance precision, automate complex procedures, and provide more personal treatments.”
• “The development of laser-activated nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery and cancer therapy holds promise for more effective and less invasive treatments.”
• Researching how lasers and biological tissues interact at the molecular level could lead to diagnostic and regenerative medical breakthroughs.
• Portability. Reductions in the size of laser technologies could expand their use and help provide medical care in underserved areas.
• Multi-functional Lasers. “The development of lasers capable of performing multiple functions simultaneously, such as imaging and therapy, could streamline procedures and improve outcomes.”

As the uses of laser technology expand and the limitations are addressed, medical companies that design laser technologies and all types of medical providers, including physicians and medspas, will need to continually review their healthcare compliance requirements. Medspas, in particular, need to be extra-cautious because there are likely to be issues regarding the unauthorized practice of medicine. Both surgical and aesthetic providers may benefit from the use of managed service organizations.

Medical companies, medical practices, and medspas should contact Cohen Healthcare Law Group, PC to discuss their regulatory compliance requirements. Our experienced healthcare attorneys advise medical businesses and professionals about healthcare compliance laws and regulations.