A new Indiana law will put stricter regulations on medical spas and could add costs for customers.
Starting July 1, the law will require practitioners to oversee and evaluate all treatments and prepare a report on the risks and benefits of drug compounding --- the practice of creating customized medications for individual patients. Medical spas must also register with the state, maintain a public database and notify the state in the case that a serious adverse event occurred.
At Vanished Aesthetics & Wellness in Bloomington, CEO and practitioner Deanna McCallister offers services such as injectables, body contouring and skin treatments. She thinks the new regulations will protect more people and ensure they’re getting the right treatment. But it will require more work on her end to schedule more appointments.
“We always operated on the pretense that things like micro needling or RF micro needling, once you train somebody, they can just go ahead and assess that patient and make that decision on their own,” she said. “And now it's pretty specific, so you're not going to be able to just do that. You're going to have to have a practitioner or prescriber that evaluates that patient prior and recommends that treatment plan.”
McCallister said if something changes in a patient’s treatment plan, they will have to schedule another appointment; that could cost them at least $100 more. McCallister will try to offset that cost by taking it off the final service total.
“I think it's going to be our responsibility to really sit down and do a thorough consultation to build everything we can into that treatment plan to try to prevent the patient from coming in multiple times,” she said. “…If a patient booked something that was discussed during that visit, then we will actually take that off the service cost. So, it does ultimately end up making it our expense. We're not going to make that money back. But sometimes being compliant, it can be expensive.”
To prepare for the law, McCallister is reviewing her policies and procedures to make sure everything is compliant, such as having the right compounding documentation. She will also ensure sure they are marketing their medical procedures correctly to reflect that the appropriate people are administering them. She also is looking to hire two new practitioners.
Going forward, she said patients won’t be able to move through the process as quickly. She’s already starting to communicate the changes with patients and update records.
For those who don’t have the resources to adapt to the new guidelines like she does, McCallister predicts about 20 to 30 percent of facilities will close.
“I just hope and pray for the people that obviously aren't going to be able to continue that maybe they can find a home to continue to do what they love in an appropriate setting and that they just do the right thing,” she said. “It's not worth losing your license.”
