4/30/08

The Business & Professions Committee of the California State Assembly quietly approved a bill that could put nonphysician-owned medical spas out of business.

The legislation, which is sponsored by the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, goes to the full California Assembly on May 31, 2008.

If passed, the bill will have a monumental impact on physicians, nurses, NPs , PAs, and management companies involved in the aesthetic field. Physicians who are involved in aesthetic practices on a part-time basis must be on-site, providing direct supervision of delegated procedures, and must personally provide good-faith exams on all patients prior to delegation. RNs will not be allowed to perform any procedures without the physician on-site unless the treatment is performed in a physician-owned office with certain restrictions.

An amended draft of the bill was drafted on April 10, 2008, and was approved by the Assembly Judiciary Committee on April 15.

Of note included in this bill is the scrutiny of lay, corporate-owned entities, or management companies, that manage “medspas.” which would be deemed to be the “owners/operators” of the practice in violation of the “corporate practice of medicine prohibition.”

Entities in violation would be subjected to extreme penalties and even prison time. Physicians supervising aesthetic practices conducted in these entities would also risk penalties and loss of licenses.

For more information, read here and check out the text of the bill.

Source: LegalEagle