The Oregon Medical Board is charged with protecting the health, safety and wellbeing of Oregonians through the regulation of the practice of medicine. As the practice of medicine in medical spas expands, it is incumbent upon licensees providing services in these settings to be aware of their responsibilities. In particular, a licensee who serves as a medical director of a medical spa or similar facility must clearly understand the duties and responsibilities of the role.
Medical directors must view medical spa patients as their patients, not just clients of the facility. Medical spa patients must be treated the same as a patient in any other medical facility. This includes performing an evaluation to establish the appropriate diagnosis and treatment, obtaining informed consent prior to treatment, and maintaining proper documentation and patient confidentiality.
Before personally performing or delegating any procedure to medical spa personnel, the medical director must consider the type of procedure and its risks. In addition, the medical director must ensure that the staff member has the appropriate education and training to perform the procedure. Proper delegation also includes effective supervision through oversight, direction, evaluation and guidance. The medical director may not delegate the diagnosis of a medical condition or development of a treatment plan to a staff member who is not licensed to provide independent medical judgment.
Medical directors authorized to prescribe scheduled medications must be aware that only they can order, own, possess or have access to those medications within their medical spa.
The medical director is responsible for the medical procedures performed at the spa and will be held to the same standard of care as though the procedure were performed in a medical facility. Above all, patient safety is the top priority, and medical directors should act in the best interest and welfare of their patients at all times.
– Adopted October 9, 2015