Ohio medical director requirements for med spas

Physician supervision & delegation in Ohio

Ohio’s light-based device rule is the most demanding in this corpus. It names exactly who may be delegated to, sets a numeric training threshold, and caps how many people one physician may watch at a time.

• A physician may delegate the application of a light-based medical device only to a physician assistant licensed under Chapter 4730 with whom the physician has an effective supervision agreement, or to a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse licensed under Chapter 4723. It may not be delegated to an unlicensed person, however well trained.

  Ohio Admin. Code 4731-18-03 · verified Aug 17, 2026

• Before a nurse may apply a laser or other light-based device, they must complete eight hours of basic education covering light-based procedure physics, tissue interaction, safety and proper safety equipment, clinical application, pre- and post-operative care and adverse event reporting; observe fifteen procedures; and perform twenty procedures under the direct physical oversight of the delegating physician.

  Ohio Admin. Code 4731-18-03 · verified Aug 17, 2026

• The eight hours of basic education need be completed only once, but the fifteen observations and twenty supervised procedures must be repeated for each specific type of laser AND for each delegating physician. Moving to a new device, or to a new supervising doctor, restarts the count.

  Ohio Admin. Code 4731-18-03 · verified Aug 17, 2026

• The physician must be on site at all times while a nurse is applying the light-based device, and may supervise no more than two such people simultaneously. Documentation of satisfactory completion of the training must be retained by both the physician and the delegate.

  Ohio Admin. Code 4731-18-03 · verified Aug 17, 2026