Medi-spas: Be Careful Not to Play Doctor
As we all know, the list of medi-spa services is growing rapidly and many of the newer services being offered are quite sophisticated. As a result, many medi-spas are feeling an obligation to advise clients about how to prepare for these services in order to get the best results. And, often, these suggestions are specifically outlined in the spa’s consent forms. Seems like a good idea, right? Putting everything in writing and getting the client’s signature for consent? Well, it turns out that this might actually be a liability for the medi-spa.
We recently came across a great article talking about consent form dos and don’ts for medi-spas. For us, the most important message from the article was that medi-spas should not assume the “practice of medicine.” But, what does this mean? Many medi-spa owners and practitioners would never think that they are practicing medicine –but they actually might be. In short, many medi-spas often advise clients to stop taking aspirin prior to certain procedures and/or advise clients to take Benadryl/an antihistamine prior to other procedures. Asking clients to take or not take medications could be considered practicing medicine and can be quite dangerous to clients (and therefore medi-spas) especially if it is not known how these medications (or lack thereof) may or may not affect a patient, especially if they are already on these medications or other medications. Thus, the practice of suggesting that clients take medications or don’t take others, should probably be avoided (both in print and in practice) unless it is done under the guidance of a physician.
See the article for additional dos and don’ts and learn how to better protect yourself from consent form liabilities and how to advise patients appropriately and safely.
