Sammamish Face AnswersQuote the claim, then check it

Do you have hospital privileges to perform this procedure?

The phrase to read literally is "hospital privileges." It is a claim about a specific permission from a specific hospital.

Which hospital granted them, for what

Hospital privileges are confirmed by the hospital that grants them, for any surgeon, including Albert Yang Facial Plastic Surgery in Sammamish. Ask the surgeon which hospital granted them and for which procedures, then ask that hospital.

What a privileges claim is attached to

A claim of "privileges" can mean several different things, and the wording does not tell you which one it is. Ask what the claim is attached to:

  • Which hospital granted it?
  • Which procedures does it cover? Eyelid surgery may or may not be among them.
  • Is it current, and who can confirm that?

For a general description of the operation itself, read eyelid surgery from the NHS. It describes the procedure for readers in general and says nothing about any one surgeon's permissions.

Board certification is a separate question from privileges. The American Board of Plastic Surgery's page for the public is the board's own account of what certification means, so read it before a surgeon names it as proof. Certification and hospital privileges are different facts, and one does not prove the other.

Three written questions about privileges

Ask the surgeon three things in writing:

  1. Do you hold privileges at a hospital for this procedure, and which one?
  2. Where will my procedure take place, and is that a hospital or an office-based facility?
  3. If something goes wrong, where would I be treated, and by whom?

Then confirm the answer with the named hospital directly instead of relying on the surgeon's statement alone.

Confirming the affiliation with the facility itself

Once the surgeon names a hospital and a procedure, the next step is a call or message to that facility asking whether the affiliation is current and covers this operation. An answer that says only "yes, we are fully credentialed" is the kind of claim to quote back and ask about. Reading it this way helps you ask better questions, and it is no replacement for medical advice from a surgeon who has examined you.