Medical Spa MD

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Injecting Botox As A 'Medical Esthetician'

It seems that there are medical spas that are having non-medical staff performing medical treatments... In this case, Botox injections.

Here's a comment that someone posted on the comment thread from the post: Medical Assistants Can Not Inject Botox.

As a medical aesthetician I have injected under a physician's supervision for nearly eight years. That is the concept of a med spa? Medical Aesthetic procedures delivered under a physician's supervision. I have more often seen patients injured by laser treatments. In fact, in a decade of working in spas that offered Botox, I've never seen serious side effect. I've seen one temporarily droopy brow, once, injected by a "diamond" injector physician.
AestheticInjector

@Aesthetic Injector
You may have been doing this. Your supervising physician may know that you're doing this... but this is not legal in the US (or Canada or Euroope as far as I know).

First: There is no such licensee as a 'Medical Aesthetician'. If you're an esthetician working in a medical spa, you're an esthetician working in a medical spa. You have no expanded scope of practice or licensure about what medical treatments you can perform. Your esthetican license allows you to perform certain treatments... none of which allow you to break the dermis. You have no licensure that allows you  to perform injections. In this case there is no difference between an esthetician and the front desk staff (or anyone off the street).

Second; you equate what you're doing directly with a physician. In this you're correct. You are indeed performing medicine.

However, your supervising physician can not extend his or her license to allow you to perform Botox injections. It does not matter if the physician knows about it. It does not matter if the physician trained you to do it. It does not matter if the physician tells you to do it. The fact that it's relatively easy and that you've been doing it (even successfully) is irrelevent. Your physician can not 'expand' the treatments that you're licensed to perform. Injecting Botox is not one of them. There is no legal difference between what you're doing inside of this 'medical spa' and what you would be doing if you were injecting Botox in a motel room somewhere, other than the physician that's allowing you to do this is on the chopping block too.

Third; If you have any issue at all, you are not going to be covered by any malpractice carrier. You (and your supervising physician) are performing entirely without any net or recourse. Your supervising physician is probably in deeper water since his or her medical license is also at risk.

You mention that you've seen 'diamond' injectors who's Botox treatments have resulted in drooping around the eye. This is a known potential complication with Botox. So, if a diamond level physician who's squirting Botox day and night can have a complication, what are the odd that you could run into any sort of complication?

If you ever perform a treatment with a negative outcome that results in any investigation, you'll be found to be performing medicine without a license, without malpractice coverage, and without a chance of any good outcome.

So, what's going to happen?

Truthfully, I don't know, but here's a probable outcome based on experience.

Something is going to go wrong; you're going to have a complication, a patient is going to be unhappy, a staff member is going to be fired but has a grudge... something will happen. It always does at some point. It may even be unrelated.

Someone is going to point out that this clinic is operating outside of both legal and ethical guidelines, and then it's going to get ugly. If it involves a patient or civil suit it's going to be even uglier. These things have a way of cascading out of control.

If you disagree, I'd truly love to hear your arguments.

Anyone else want to weigh in on this?