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Does a med spa in Arkansas need a medical director?

Oversight · part of The Practice Perimeter

⛔ ARKANSAS SAYS THE COSMETIC LASER IS THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE, AND WRITES THE DELEGATION PROTOCOL AROUND IT. 17 CAR § 140-1601 finds that using medical lasers on human beings, for therapeutic OR COSMETIC purposes, constitutes the practice of medicine, and lets a physician delegate a minor procedure only on a protocol. The delegation rule adds a factor test before any task reaches an unlicensed employee, two of which are that the practice can be performed without requiring the exercise of judgment based on medical knowledge and that its results are reasonably predictable. The delegating physician remains responsible for the employee’s acts throughout, and may not hand that supervisory responsibility to anyone but another physician who knowingly accepts it, nor delegate anesthesia to an unlicensed person at all. The Department of Health’s cosmetology rules define the aesthetician by EXTERNAL work: any person who engages in the practice of beautifying the body by cleaning, waxing, externally manipulating or stimulating the body by means of the hands, devices, apparatus or appliances, with or without cosmetic preparations, antiseptics, tonics, lotions and creams — a definition that stops at the surface and names no procedure that penetrates it.

Drawn from 9 verified rules in this section · regulatory monitoring, not legal advice

The rest of what Arkansas says on this

Every other rule we have verified under physician supervision & delegation, each linked to its primary source.

  • (2) The physician, when delegating these minor procedures, must comply with the following protocol:

    17 CAR § 140-1601(b)(2) (Laser surgery guidelines — protocol) · verified Sep 4, 2026

  • A physician shall not: (1) Transfer his or her responsibility for supervising an unlicensed person in the performance of a delegated medical practice except to another physician who has knowingly accepted that responsibility; (2) Authorize or permit an unlicensed person to whom a medical practice is delegated to delegate the performance of that practice to another person; (3) Delegate to an unlicensed person the administration of anesthesia;

    17 CAR § 140-2506(1)-(3) (Physician delegation — prohibitions) · verified Sep 4, 2026

  • (3) The board further finds that the use of medical lasers on human beings, for therapeutic or cosmetic purposes, constitutes the practice of medicine.

    17 CAR § 140-1601(a)(3) (Laser surgery guidelines) · verified Sep 4, 2026

  • (B) The physician may delegate the performance of certain tasks in the treatment only to trained nonphysician personnel skilled in that procedure; (C) The physician must make himself or herself available to respond to the patient should there be any complications from the minor procedure; and (D) The physician should ensure that documentation in patient records adequately describes the condition of the patient and the procedure performed, and who performed said procedure.

    17 CAR § 140-1601(b)(2)(B)-(D) (Laser surgery guidelines) · verified Sep 4, 2026

  • (a) The delegating physician remains responsible for the acts of the employee performing the delegated medical practice. (b) The employee performing the delegated medical practice shall not be represented to the public as a licensed physician, licensed nurse, licensed physician’s assistant, or other licensed healthcare provider. (c) Medical practices delegated pursuant to this statute and subpart shall be performed under the physician’s supervision.

    17 CAR § 140-2503 (Physician delegation — general provisions) · verified Sep 4, 2026

  • (5) That the medical practice is one that can be appropriately delegated when considering the following factors: (A) That the medical practice can be performed without requiring the exercise of judgment based on medical knowledge; (B) That the results of the medical practice are reasonably predictable;

    17 CAR § 140-2504(5) (Procedures for delegating a medical practice) · verified Sep 4, 2026

  • “Aesthetician” means any person who engages in the practice of beautifying the body by cleaning, waxing, externally manipulating, or stimulating the body by means of the hands, devices, apparatus, or appliances with or without the use of cosmetic: (A) Preparations; (B) Antiseptics; (C) Tonics; (D) Lotions; and (E) Creams;

    17 CAR § 54-201(1) (Definitions for cosmetology and related branches — “Aesthetician”) · verified Sep 7, 2026

  • (d)(1) The person administering anesthesia shall be physically present during the intraoperative period and shall be available until the patient has been discharged from anesthesia care. (2) They must be licensed, qualified, and working within their scope of practice as defined by state law.

    17 CAR § 140-2904(d) (Office-based surgery — anesthesia) · verified Sep 4, 2026

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← All Arkansas rules and changes · MedSpaRadar is regulatory monitoring and reference, not legal, medical, or compliance advice. Verify against the linked primary source and consult qualified counsel before acting — rules change and turn on your specific facts. Legislative data via LegiScan (CC BY 4.0).