To allow a for-profit business to provide aesthetic medical services to clients in Michigan, the business entity should usually be a professional entity such as a PLLC and owned by a licensed physician. This is because certain procedures performed by medical spas are considered to be “the practice of medicine.”
For example, the State of Michigan constitutes microdermabrasion to be the practice of medicine, because it involves the removal of the skin by use of a mechanical device. Also, laser procedures are considered to be the practice of medicine as well, requiring special patient consent is required for such services.
Medical Spas that are unaware of such requirement or that choose to ignore them, are likely engaging in the unauthorized practice of medicine. The consequences of violating the Michigan Corporate Practice of Medicine can include civil liability, administrative penalties, and criminal penalties.
Professional liability coverage such as medical malpractice insurance for medical spas can help pay for legal costs related to work performed that results in damages or injuries to the patient receiving treatment.
Your Professional Liability Insurance May Not Be Covering the Medical Director
Many Medical Spas offices fail to understand that their professional liability insurance may not be providing the coverages that they assume would be provided (this also applies to which procedures are actually covered by their policy and which are not, but that is an entirely separate topic) physicians often serve as Medical Director for medical spas, however, the duties of a Medical Director (Medical Directorship) may not be covered by a medi-spas professional liability insurance policy.
Often, insurance carriers exclude Medical Directors from their insurance policy, or simply don’t include coverage for medical directorship automatically. Medical spas ought to confirm with their insurance agent that their policy provides coverage for the Medical Director specifically, or else they will not be covered if a claim is filed or the Medical Director is involved in a suit.
The medical spa should be certain that the policy specifically includes coverage for the physician who owns the PLLC if they assume the role of Medical Director. Another common mistake is the assumption that a medical director is automatically covered for providing direct patient care. These are separate coverages entirely. If the Medical Director provides direct patient care which is outside of their medical directorship role, that must be relayed to the insurance carrier to appropriately represent that in the policy.
In many instances, a physician may assume that the professional liability policy they have in force at a separate practice will cover them for their work at a Medical Spa, but that is not typically the case. Unless the scope of work is virtually identical and the legal entity under which the physician is performing services elsewhere is the same as at the medi-spa, the physicians other professional liability policy may be ineffective.
In addition to the owner of a medical spa being a licensed physician, the cosmetic medical services must be performed by a physician or delegated by a physician to someone who is otherwise qualified by education, training, and experience to perform the medical cosmetic service.
The Medical Director is responsible for medical supervision, what is that?
If the physician is not performing the cosmetic medical service, then they must, at the very least, supervise it. Under the Public Health Code, supervision includes:
i.The continuous availability of direct communication in person or by radio, telephone, or telecommunication between the supervised individual and a licensed health professional.ii.The availability of a licensed health professional on a regularly scheduled basis to review the practice of the supervised individual, to provide consultation to the supervised individual, to review records, and to further educate the supervised individual in the performance of the individual’s functions.III.The provision of the licensed supervising health professional of predetermined procedures and drug protocol.
“Cosmetic medical services that are performed without any supervision of a physician or without proper physician supervision could result in a violation of Michigan law and increase a physician’s potential professional liability liability” regardless of whether they were present or not. Busch, Jessica L. “Medical Spas: Common Legal Pitfalls to Avoid – Life Sciences, Biotechnology & Nanotechnology – United States.” Medical Spas: Common Legal Pitfalls To Avoid – Life Sciences, Biotechnology & Nanotechnology – United States, 30 Sept. 2020, www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/life-sciences-biotechnology-nanotechnology/989556/medical-spas-common-legal-pitfalls-to-avoid
Improper supervision can also include circumstances where the physician is supervising too many individuals at a given time, this can also subject the physician to liability and could affect the physicians medical license and reputation.
We are here to help answer your medi-spa professional liability insurance questions. Contact us at 248-362-1313 or fill out the form below. We will answer your questions in a pressure free environment.
