Health Law Advisor

In April, we shared with you our thoughts on what to consider before opening in or investing in a medical spa, thinking about corporate structure, scope of practice, licenses and registrations, referral restrictions, HIPAA and data privacy, and more. This month, we’re focusing on how states are beginning to regulate in this area, so owners and operators can hit the ground running in terms of compliance—or relax and breathe deep, knowing they are ahead of the plan. 

In March 2024, the state of Rhode Island introduced S 2870, the Medical Spas Safety Act, providing (within the definition of “cosmetic medical procedure”) that:

• The performance of cosmetic medical services is the practice of medicine and surgery; and
• A cosmetic medical service shall be performed by a qualified licensed or certified non-physician only if the services have been delegated by a medical director, supervising physician, supervising physician’s assistant (PA) or supervising advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) who is responsible for onsite supervision of services performed.

The Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to eliminate the federal constitutional right to abortion continues to alter the legal landscape across the country. On April 26, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) published the “HIPAA Privacy Rule to Support Reproductive Health Care Privacy” (the “Final Rule”).

The Final Rule—amending the Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information (“Privacy Rule”) under the Health Insurance ...

Aesthetic services and the medical spa industry have continued to grow over the past few years as clients continue to demand the availability of such cosmetic services. In response, many providers and investors in the health care industry are seeing opportunities to open or invest in a medical spa.

Before opening or investing in a medical spa there are several key elements to be considered:

Corporate Structure

One of the first elements to consider when opening a medical spa is the corporate structure and ownership of the medical spa. Many jurisdictions have “Corporate Practice of ...

Alaap B. Shah and Nivedita B. Patel, attorneys in the Health Care & Life Sciences practice, in the firm’s Washington, DC, office, co-authored an article in MobiHealthNews, titled “Unlocking Value in Health Data: Truveta’s Data Monetization Strategy Carries Big Risks and Responsibilities.”

Following is an excerpt:

In today’s world, data is power. Healthcare providers have massive amounts of rich health data at their fingertips. Yet historically, third-party vendors to healthcare providers often have derived financial benefits from secondary use of ...

After a Congressional override of a Presidential veto, the National Defense Authorization Act became law on January 1, 2021 (NDAA). Notably, the NDAA not only provides appropriations for military and defense purposes but, under Division E, it also includes the most significant U.S. legislation concerning artificial intelligence (AI) to date: The National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 (NAIIA).

The NAIIA sets forth a multi-pronged national strategy and funding approach to spur AI research, development and innovation within the U.S., train and prepare an ...