Med spa
A med spa (medical spa) is a hybrid business offering medical aesthetic and wellness services — injectables, laser treatments, IV therapy, and increasingly weight-loss and hormone programs — under required medical oversight.
- Medical services under consumer-brand experience
- Requires medical directorship and state-compliant delegation
- GLP-1 and hormone programs drove the recent boom
- In-clinic injectables typically source from 503B facilities
The regulatory shape of a med spa
The aesthetics are consumer; the services are medicine. Botox, fillers, laser treatments, IV drips, and GLP-1 injections are medical services, which means a licensed medical director or supervising physician, state-specific rules about who may inject and under whose delegation, and — in corporate-practice states — the same MSO/PC structures telehealth uses. State boards have sharpened enforcement as the category boomed.
Why med spas are expanding into telehealth territory
Weight care and hormone therapy turned med spas into recurring-revenue clinics: a client who visits monthly for a GLP-1 injection or HRT check-in is worth far more than an occasional facial. That expansion pulls med spas toward telehealth infrastructure — remote clinician review between visits, e-prescribing, 503B-sourced office stock for in-clinic administration, and compliant protocols they cannot easily build alone. The med spa channel is effectively B2B2C for clinical programs.
Compliance handled, so you can build
Lithos runs the clinicians, pharmacies, and 50-state rules behind your care program — one API.
Frequently asked questions
Can a non-physician own a med spa?
Depends on the state — corporate-practice-of-medicine rules often require the medical services to run through a physician-owned entity, mirroring telehealth structures.
Can med spas offer GLP-1 programs?
Yes, with proper clinical oversight: licensed prescribers, patient-specific evaluation, and compliant sourcing — the areas state boards scrutinize most.
Who supervises injections at a med spa?
State rules vary: some allow RNs or aestheticians to inject under physician delegation; others restrict procedures to clinicians directly.