What must the supervising physician actually do in Illinois?

Oversight · part of The Practice Perimeter

In an office or practice setting and within a physician-patient relationship, a physician may delegate patient care tasks to an unlicensed person who has appropriate training and experience, provided a health care professional is on site to provide assistance. Delegation may be by oral, written or electronic means, by standing orders, protocols, guidelines or verbal orders.

225 ILCS 60/54.2(b), (f) · verified Aug 17, 2026 · regulatory monitoring, not legal advice

The rest of what Illinois says on this

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

  • The use of a light-emitting device — including intense pulsed light, red light therapy, low-level, cold and soft laser therapy, non-thermal LED, radiofrequency and medical microwave devices — for dermatologic conditions or cosmetic procedures that disrupt the epidermal surface of the skin, whether ablative or non-ablative, is the practice of medicine and may be performed only by a licensed physician or under delegation.

    68 Ill. Adm. Code 1285.336 (as stated in the IDFPR/IDPH med spa memo) · verified Aug 17, 2026

  • A physician may delegate ABLATIVE procedures to a licensed practical nurse, a registered professional nurse, a full practice authority APRN or another person only with on-site supervision by the physician. For NON-ABLATIVE procedures the physician may instead be available by telephone or other electronic means to respond promptly to any question or complication.

    68 Ill. Adm. Code 1285.336 · verified Aug 17, 2026

  • Anyone delegated an ablative or non-ablative procedure must have received appropriate, documented training and education in the safe and effective use of each system used — competence on one device is not competence on the next.

    68 Ill. Adm. Code 1285.336 · verified Aug 17, 2026

  • A task that is mandated by statute or by rule to be performed by a physician may not be delegated at all, and anything that is delegated must sit within the scope of practice, education, training or experience of the delegating physician.

    225 ILCS 60/54.2(a), (c) · verified Aug 17, 2026

How other states answer this

All 7 states side by side →

Related Illinois questions

Every Illinois question we can answer →

Get Illinois changes as they publish

We scan the Illinois legislature and licensing boards daily, plus the FDA and the Federal Register. Free weekly Brief — what changed, in plain language, with the source.

Free · unsubscribe in one click · we never sell your address

← All Illinois rules and changes · Med Spa Radar 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).