What must the supervising physician actually do in District of Columbia?
Oversight · part of The Practice Perimeter
Short answer
The cited rules do not settle this — they require only that a medical assistant work under the direct supervision of a physician, PA, or APRN and bar subcutaneous procedures other than vaccines or injections; "direct supervision" is left undefined.
The practice of medical assistants occurs only under the direct supervision of a physician, physician assistant, or advance practice registered nurse.
D.C. Code §3-1201.02(6D) · verified Sep 8, 2026 · regulatory monitoring, not legal advice
Related District of Columbia rules
The practice of medicine includes offering or performing any type of invasive procedure of the body, whether through a body opening or a cutting of the skin, or otherwise affecting the layer of skin below the stratum corneum, for surgical, therapeutic, or cosmetic purposes, excluding procedures known as body tattooing or body piercing.
D.C. Code §3-1201.02(7)(A)(iv) · verified Sep 3, 2026
Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed as preventing or restricting other health professionals from offering or undertaking any type of invasive procedure of the body, whether through a body opening or a cutting of the skin, or otherwise affecting the layer of skin below the stratum corneum, for surgical, therapeutic, or cosmetic purposes, if the procedure has been authorized by a licensed physician; or is performed by an advanced practice registered nurse, an anesthesiologist assistant, a dentist, a physician assistant, a podiatrist, a practical nurse, a registered nurse, or a surgical assistant who has received the necessary training and experience to perform the procedure in a safe and effective manner.
D.C. Code §3-1201.02(7)(B) · verified Sep 3, 2026
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← All District of Columbia rules and changes · MedSpaRadar is regulatory monitoring and reference: it summarizes public laws, regulations and agency actions and links each to its source. It is not legal, medical, or compliance advice, and using it creates no attorney-client relationship. A summary can lag its source or leave out detail, and monitoring itself can be interrupted — so an absence of alerts means nothing reached you, not that nothing happened. Read the cited source, check its effective date, and confirm any change to your operations or clinical practice with qualified health-law counsel and your medical director. Legislative data via LegiScan (CC BY 4.0).