By Alex Thiersch, CEO of the American Med Spa Association

In this space a couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the need for self-regulation in the medical aesthetic industry. In that piece, I mostly focused on how medical spa owners and operators can help the industry by observing certain standards that AmSpa is helping to develop. However, the need for self-regulation is not limited to practitioners—it extends to equipment and device manufacturers, as well as clinical training facilities.

After an AmSpa Boot Camp or a consultation where I detail the legalities of laser use, for example, I'm often approached by attendees who say, "I was trained by a laser manufacturer, and they didn't tell me any of this stuff." What I'e found is that there are a lot of people out there who give a lot of disparate information and, oftentimes, it's not accurate and it leads people to believe that they can do things that legally they cannot do.

We at AmSpa have been working very hard since the organization's inception to educate not only medical spa owners and practitioners, but also the industry as a whole. If everyone knows the laws under which they operate, everyone can be on the same page.

AmSpa works with many laser manufacturers that have listened to us and acted in very responsible ways. However, I'e also heard countless stories from people who were told by manufacturers or training facilities that they can do something that they plainly cannot, and they feel like that is unfair.

This is not just an AmSpa problem or a medical aesthetic practitioner problem—it is an industry problem. The entire industry need to be on the same page. Every member of the industry needs to buy into the same set of standards, and we all need to be teaching the people who work in the industry the same thing. It makes no sense and does nobody any good to, say, take a long laser course and learn to perform treatments if a practitioner cannot legally administer them.

Therefore, AmSpa is calling on the entire industry—not just medical spa owners and practitioners, but also device manufacturers, drug manufacturers, and training facilities—to start taking compliance seriously, because it's the only way for the industry to evolve in a positive direction. Everyone wants to succeed and make money, but if the industry is overly regulated due to negative outcomes and people acting in bad faith, it will be extremely difficult for the industry to become better and larger than it already is.

I'm looking forward to discussing self-regulation with everyone at forthcoming AmSpa Boot Camps. We will be in Orlando next week for our final Boot Camp of 2018, and our just-announced 2019 itinerary includes stops in Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Dallas, New York and Orlando. Click here for more information and to sign up for a Boot Camp near you. We'll also be discussing this matter at the Medical Spa Show in Las Vegas in February 2019. Click here to learn more about this year's agenda and event ... it shouldn't be missed!