Pennsylvania medical director requirements for med spas
Medical-director, supervision, and delegation requirements for aesthetic practices. Below are the Pennsylvania rules that govern it, each linked to its primary source. Monitoring and reference, not legal advice.
Physician supervision & delegation in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania does not publish a list of what may be delegated. It publishes a test — seven conditions, all of which must hold before a physician hands any medical service to anyone else.
A medical doctor may delegate the performance of a medical service to a health care practitioner or a technician only where the delegation is consistent with the standards of acceptable medical practice embraced by the medical doctor community in Pennsylvania, and where it does not violate any other statute or regulation governing the person receiving it.
49 Pa. Code §18.402(a) · verified Aug 17, 2026
The delegating physician must confirm the person receiving the delegation has the education, training, experience and continued competency to perform it safely, must determine there is no undue risk to that particular patient, and assumes responsibility for the delegated service.
49 Pa. Code §18.402(a) · verified Aug 17, 2026
The nature of the service and the fact that it is being delegated must have been explained to the patient, and the patient must not object. Pennsylvania puts the patient’s awareness of who is treating them inside the delegation test itself rather than leaving it to consent paperwork.
49 Pa. Code §18.402(a) · verified Aug 17, 2026
A physician may approve a standing protocol delegating medical acts to another health care practitioner who encounters a medical emergency, to stabilize the patient until the physician or emergency medical services personnel are available to attend.
49 Pa. Code §18.402 · verified Aug 17, 2026
Aiding or abetting an unlicensed person to practice, and permitting an unlicensed person to perform activities requiring a license, are listed acts of unprofessional conduct for which the Board may discipline.
49 Pa. Code §16.61 · verified Aug 17, 2026
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