By Patrick O'Brien, JD, legal coordinator for the American Med Spa Association

The July 5 issue of Texas Register contains proposed changes to the Nonsurgical Medical Cosmetic Procedures delegation rule known as Rule §193.17 of the Texas Administrative Code. We previously covered the stakeholder meeting where this and an alternative proposal were introduced. The board approved the publication of this proposal at its last meeting, as it had not received any negative comments about it. This publication is the next step in formally adopting this change.

To briefly review the issue, this proposed change adds a notice provision to the current delegation rules. Every facility that provides nonsurgical medical cosmetic procedures will now be required to post a notice in each public area and treatment room. The notice needs to provide the name and license number of the physician who delegates the procedures, as well as information about how to file a complaint with the medical board. The form and content of this notice must follow the medical board's rules contained in Rule §178, and specifically the approved formats found in ¬ß178.3.

The proposed changes can be viewed starting on page 63 of the most recent issue of the Texas Register. Also of note in this issue is the repeal of rule §193.8 on standing delegation orders. This change is designed to conform to a recent law change that requires monthly meetings between physicians and physician assistants or advanced practice registered nurses.

With the official publication of these changes, the earliest they could be formally adopted is August 4, 2019. There may be a public hearing to solicit comments; however, none is scheduled at this time. If you wish to make a comment or get more information about these changes, you can contact Texas Medical Board General Counsel Scott Freshour at 512.305.7016.