Should you become a Medical Director at a Medical Spa?

At the IAPAM’s Aesthetic Medicine Symposium I often hear from physicians who have been approached by spas to become their medical directors. Without a doubt, this is not an decision to be taken lightly. You will be taking on a great amount of responsibility, and before you jump in, you need to ensure the following are in place: medical malpractice insurance for you (they should be covering you under their policy) and well-dcoumented procedural protocols must be in place for each employee (this documents their training, and qualifications to perform each procedure).A question regarding compensation invariably comes along as well. This will vary depending on your involvement. Will you be coming in daily/weekly? be on call 7×24? performing any procedures? I’ve seen monthly medical director retainer fees range from $1,500-3, 000/m. Another dependency is where you are located,  medical director fees in South Florida are higher than rural Indiana. Please also keep in mind it’s illegal for a non-physician to hire a physician, so an MSO (Management Services Agreement) may also need to be in place.Remember you are a physician, and you are putting your medical license on the line, so I would make sure you are compensated fairly for the risk you are taking on.To expand on the legal issues to be aware of, I’ve asked healthcare attorney, Michael H. Cohen to comment:  “There are some complicated legal issues with becoming a medical director of wellness Center or medical spa. In a nutshell these involve the interplay of the corporate practice of medicine doctrine, antikickback issues, and issues around supervision of nonmedical staff. Every state handles this differently, and the rules intersect in very individual ways depending on how the particular arrangement is structured. Therefore, physicians interested in such opportunities should consult with legal counsel familiar with these issues.”This post is not meant to be legal advice, but its meant to educate you on knowing the right questions to ask your healthcare attorney prior to entering into a medical director role at a non-physician owned spa or medical spa.Jeff Russell