MEDICAL SPAS AND MEDI-SPAS

Since the Medical Spa or Medi Spa is still a relatively new term to the spa industry there are various interpretations:

What is a medical spa?

According to the International Spa Association (ISPA), a >medical spa is a facility that operates under the full-time, on-site supervision of a licensed health care professional whose primary purpose is to provide comprehensive medical and wellness care in an environment that integrates spa services, as well as traditional, complimentary and/or alternative therapies and treatments. The facility operates within the scope of practice of its staff, which can include both Aesthetic/Cosmetic and Prevention/Wellness procedures and services.

Leading Spas of Canada says a medical spa is one that integrates comprehensive wellness care and/or medical esthetics - like Botox, laser, facial peels and microdermabraion, etc. - administered by medical physicians and staff with traditional spa services such as facials, pedicures, massage and body treatments provided by professional spa therapists.

And, the term medi-spa?

A medi-spa can be the shortened term for a medical spa or the term used to describe a spa, spa-like facilities or medical clinic that deals with esthetic dermatology and clinical anti-aging procedures. Alexandra Robinson, spa director at Topnotch Spa in Stowe, Vermont defines the term medi-spa as a spa offering cutting-edge esthetic services that are medically supervised.

In many such facilities there is a medical doctor on site (either full-time or part time) to administer these esthetic and facial enhancement treatments - that can included Botox injections, fillers, Intense Pulse Light, chemical peels, laser treatments and cosmetic. In other cases, the person who is administering the treatments is not a medical practitioner but has been trained by one. Then, there are some facilities who use the term, but perhaps shouldn't.

For the consumer the most important question is:

Does the person who is administering the treatment have the necessary knowledge, training and qualifications to administer these treatments AND are they trained and qualified to handle any adverse effects of the treatment.

Dr. Carole Williams, medical director at the Sante Spa at the Bear Mountain Resort, Victoria B.C. says "make sure you know the qualifications of who is injecting, how often they inject and where they were trained." She says it is up to the customer to decide what level of expertise they are comfortable with when someone is working on their face.