Nurse practitioner’s Scottsdale office offers cosmetic procedures

Lisa Williams used to work out of a doctor’s office. Now the nurse practitioner has struck out on her own.

Offering nonsurgical cosmetic procedures such as Botox injections, cellulite removal, skin tightening and microdermabrasion, the Scottsdale nurse practitioner is part of a trend in which those services are done without a doctor’s assistance.

Williams is the owner of Medical Aesthetics by Lisa Williams in the Northsight Shopping Center. She opened her north Scottsdale office six months ago after working in a hospital setting for five years.

The field of nurse practitioners was established in the 1960s to help provide medical services in rural communities, and to help hospitals and doctors expand patient services at a reduced cost, said Karen Grady, advanced practice consultant for the state Board of Nursing.

"They are not doctors but can do many things a physician can," Grady said. "They can evaluate a patient, do exams, read diagnostic testing, do a diagnosis and treat the patient." That includes therapeutic procedures and prescribing medication within the scope of their specialty, she said.

There are about 106,000 nurse practitioners nationally. In Arizona, there are 2,673 nurse practitioners with active licenses, Grady said. In the last 10 years, the field has grown because they have a reputation for more personalized care, she said.

Williams said she opened the Scottsdale clinic to serve the affluent people in the area and the residents’ desire to look beautiful.

"As you go out north, the women are not so hesitant to get these noninvasive procedures," Williams said. "These are ladies who commonly don’t want to have surgery yet."

And while she’s offering the procedures on her own, Williams said she does see the importance of a doctor’s oversight. "We need to be able to consult and refer appropriately," she said. "So if someone comes in with a suspicious mole, I need to refer them to a physician."

Since the 1960s, those practitioners have been satisfied to work in hospitals and doctors’ offices but now are striking out on their own, said Michelle Pronsati, editor of the Pennsylvania-based Advance for Nurse Practitioners magazine.

"Nurse practitioners are starting to say, ‘Hey, I could be out there making money for myself,’ " she said.

That worries some physicians.

Dr. Gary McCracken of North Scottsdale Dermatology warned that a doctor’s care is still the best way to ensure that patients get safe and reliable services.

"I think there should be a physician involved somewhere," McCracken said. "I know times are changing, but my opinion is that if someone is going to get a procedure done, it should be with a physician’s supervision."

Williams, who has a master’s degree in adult nurse practitioning from Arizona State University, grew up in Scottsdale and lives nearby.

Although most of her clients are wealthy, Williams said her customers are always shopping for a bargain and her prices are lower than those at a plastic surgeon’s office.

"That’s where I found my niche — in lower prices," Williams said.

In most cases, the cost of services received is only less when paying out-of-pocket for elective procedures not covered by insurance, Grady said.

Nurse practitioners are able to give more individual treatment because they see fewer patients. "They are very patient-centered in their focus and holistic in the care they provide to their patients," Grady said.