The Maryland Board of Physicians has recently passed regulations which establish parameters for who can perform cosmetic medical procedures. Cosmetic medical procedures include non-surgical treatments such as Botox, Dysport. In recent years these treatments have been performed in unregulated Medi-Spas and Salons as wells in non-core physicians offices. Core physicians include Plastic Surgeons, ENT, and Dermatologists, as they have received special truing in the use of these treatments. Non-core physicians include any the “MD” who has a license to practice medicine, including Internists, General Practitioners and Gynecologists, to name a few. The new regulations are aimed at promoting patient/consumer safety and dictate who, and under what conditions these treatments can be performed.
In summary, the physician is responsible for the evaluation the patient, prescribing the treatment to be provided, obtain informed consent and be present when the treatment is performed. Physician assistants, but not nurses are presently allowed to perform the treatments after being evaluated by the physician (the Board of Nursing is adopting its own regulations which would allow licensed nurses to perform the procedures, but again only after evaluation by the physician). A medical spa is not a health care facility and estheticians are not health care providers. The physician may not delegate these treatments to estheticians.
These regulations are available at the Board’s website, www.mbp.state.md.us. “Cosmetic medical procedures” is Chapter 10.32.09, Code of Maryland Regulations.
In closing, it is against Maryland regulations for anyone other than properly trained physicians, or their delegate physician assistants to perform cosmetic medical procedures. If you are receiving these treatments from anyone else you are really taking un-necessary risk and reminds me of the saying “Buyer Beware”
Feel free to write back with questions or concerns.
Dr. S
