“These places can offer a wonderful opportunity for a consumer to reduce stress and get treatment for the whole body,” said Lynne McNees, president of the International Spa Association. But, she added, “just because someone is in a white coat, it doesn’t mean he or she is a qualified to perform a procedure on you.”
Both McNees and Hannelore Leavy, executive director of the International Medical Spa Association, emphasized the efforts their associations are making to educate the medical spa consumer. For instance, Leavy’s organization has a section on its Web site that pertains to current legislation affecting medical spas.
“If someone is cutting you open or injecting something into you it’s not a spa service, it’s a medical one,” McNees said. “You’re going to need to know who is performing that procedure, know their credentials and accreditations and really do your homework,” she said. “I tell everyone, ‘If you don’t know, don’t go.’”
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