Megan McRae, RN, has spent more than 30 years as a registered nurse. Now, she has become the face of a brewing storm in Queensland’s cosmetic industry. She’d invested her heart, soul and life savings into her brand new small cosmetic injectable clinic in Brisbane. Now, just eight months after she opened those innovative doors, she’s looking down the barrel of closing her doors for good. Recent regulatory changes from Queensland Health have left many in the industry scrambling to adapt, raising concerns about compliance and the future of their businesses.
McRae has been an injector for over seven years. She has personally spent more than $13,000 getting upskilled to qualify for what they need. She says the new regulations have gone too far and have been counterproductive. She’s concerned they could unintentionally push patients to self-administer or seek out unregulated providers for cosmetic procedures.
Australia
In a move that impacts dentists and nurses alike who work with injectables, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) recently released and implemented new guidelines. Although McRae endorses compliance and regulation, she argues that they must be done in an economically responsible way.
Concerns Over New Regulations
To Megan McRae, those worries are the same as many other cosmetic clinic owners all across Queensland. It’s just not reasonable to expect patients to manage Schedule 4 (S4) medicines,” she contends. At the same time, qualified professionals—such as nurses—are barred from accomplishing it.
“It just seems like a tax on vanity honestly. An attack on women-led businesses,” – Ms McRae
McRae is concerned that such regulations could push patients to inject themselves. He worries that they’ll leave no choice but to seek procedures out on the black market. She stated, “That potentially opens the market up for patients injecting themselves, or selling it on themselves.”
Or as Dr Veya Seekis, one of my colleagues in the medical community, put it—she is worried. She emphasized the need for medical professionals to oversee the administration of these treatments in a safe way. Their knowledge of anatomy and appropriate injection techniques is absolutely key.
“The reason that it should be in the hands of medical professionals is that we have studied, we do know how to administer safely, we do know our anatomy,” – Ms McRae
Economic Impact on Small Businesses
As McRae and other clinic owners continue to navigate these new rules, they can’t help but think of the long-term economic impact. Price increases due to higher compliance costs may drive patients to black markets for cash-based cosmetic procedures.
Dr. Seekis also recognized the reality of “medical tourism” and the danger of patients going elsewhere to get procedures in less controlled settings. She noted, “Medical tourism, black market scenario, it’s real and it’s scary.”
McRae’s sentiments resonate an all-too-common fear for small business owners. They express concern that their voices do not count in the ongoing discussion of significant changes to regulations. Thousands are planning to march on a new parliament house to call for a better deal to be done for their future.
“We do know there are cowboys out there. We’re not against compliance. We just want a pathway that is economically viable that’s not going to shut us down,” – Ms McRae
The Need for Dialogue
McRae is a strong proponent of providing injectable clinic owners with a “seat at the table.” They need and deserve to be part of any conversation about regulations that affect their livelihood. She emphasized the importance of community engagement with lawmakers. We believe this new approach will lead to better solutions that preserve patient safety and protect people’s livelihoods.
Queensland Health takes very seriously its role of making cosmetic injectable providers aware of their legal obligations. They are doing so to ensure these providers are not breaking the law. A spokesperson stated, “Queensland Health’s focus is the safety of Queenslanders and we are committed to ensuring cosmetic injectable providers are aware of their legal obligations and operating legally.”
Even still, McRae isn’t convinced that any of those efforts go far enough to protect folks like small clinic owners McRae from having to worry.
“I’ve spent thousands on upskilling over many years. It’s a little patronising to not respect the skill set that we have as medical professionals,” – Ms McRae
