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Earlier this month, Texas prosecutors filed charges against the owner of a med spa and its supervising physician stemming from the July 2023 death of a customer who became unresponsive and later died after receiving an IV infusion at the spa, according to the American Med Spa Association. The owner and the physician are being charged with murder, manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, and delivery of dangerous drugs. The charges also focus on the physician’s failure to supervise the patient and the improper use of his license to obtain and administer prescription drugs. The physician’s medical license was also suspended.
Defined responsibilities: In response to this case, lawmakers in Texas last year passed “Jenifer’s Law,” which imposes stricter statewide requirements on elective IV therapy—a service that some urgent cares have added to their lines of business in recent years. The law states that administration may be delegated to registered nurses, advanced practice registered nurses, or physician assistants under physician supervision. However, the law itself does not explicitly require the physician to be physically on site during IV infusions. Instead, it repeatedly uses the term “adequate physician supervision.” What’s important for urgent cares to note is that the physician remains legally responsible for the delegated care. Read more about supervising physicians’ responsibility from the JUCM archive: Supervising Doctors May be Held Liable in Malpractice Suits