‘Substantial threat’: ASDS provides regulation status update of medical spas

Key takeaways:

• A supervising or acting physician was only present in 38.1% of medical spas.
• When complications arose, only 46% of spas reported notifying a medical director or supervising physician.

The American Society for Dermatologic Surgery Association has called on legislators for medical spa regulation following the publication of its study which showed a continued lack of physician supervision.

According to a report by Technavio, the medical spa market is set to grow by $27.55 billion from 2024 to 2028 — a 19.94% increase compared with previous years. The report claims that a key driver in the uptick is rising interest from the older adult population and may be attributed to the increasing popularity of wellness tourism, cosmetic treatments and minimally invasive treatments.

The American Society of Dermatologic Surgery Association (ASDSA) conducted a descriptive study entitled “Supervision Unveiled: Navigating the Supervision Landscape in Medical Spas,” which revealed the continual lack of physician guidance in medical spas.

Based on standardized phone interviews with 63 medical spas, the study found that 73% of injectable treatments performed at medical spas were done by nonphysicians. These injectable procedures most commonly included neuromodulator injections (83.6%), soft-tissue dermal filler injections (78.1%) and deoxycholic acid (65.8%).

The spas also reported that a supervising or acting physician was only present in 38.1% of establishments.

When complications arose at the surveyed spas, only 46% reported notifying a medical director or supervising physician. Also, 39.7% did not have a phone number patients could call after regular business hours.

In the press release, M. Laurin Council, MD, MBA, president of the ASDSA, called medical spas a “substantial threat” to patient safety and insisted new regulations require appropriate supervision and training by qualified on-site physicians in these establishments.

“Patients and the unsuspecting public think medical spas are safe because states have allowed them to be in business and the name implies medical care,” Council told Healio. “Dermatologists pioneered and are among the most qualified physicians to provide medical procedures offered at these medical spas, which is why ASDSA has developed its state legislative model bill to encourage states to look at ways to improve patient safety in medical spas.”

The model bill, entitled the “Medical Spa Safety Act,” encourages continual physician oversight during medical procedures performed at medical spas. It also requires medical directors to have training on all procedures being performed and emphasizes a need for additional staff education requirements, a mandatory notification system to the public when a physician is not on sight and pressure to report adverse events.

“Dermatologists should continue to educate patients and policymakers on this important issue,” Council added.

References:

• ASDSA finds lack of physician supervision in medical spas. https://www.asds.net/skin-experts/news-room/press-releases/asdsa-finds-lack-of-physician-supervision-in-medical-spas. Published Jan. 8, 2025. Accessed Jan. 9, 2025.
• Medical spa market analysis Europe, APAC, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa - US, China, Germany, France, Japan - size and forecast 2024-2028. https://www.technavio.com/report/medical-spa-market-analysis. Published September 2024. Accessed Jan. 9, 2025.
• Medical spa safety act. https://www.asds.net/Portals/0/PDF/asdsa/asdsa-medical-spa-safety-act.pdf. Published May 2019. Accessed Jan. 9, 2025.