---
title: "Hiring a medical director for a med spa: cost and options"
description: "Hiring a medical director for your med spa: what it costs, what the role covers, who may serve, and when GLP-1 and hormone programs need no hire at all."
canonical: "https://cuvo.co/blog/medical-director-for-med-spa"
last-updated: "Nov 10, 2026"
keywords: ["medical director for med spa", "med spa medical director", "med spa medical director cost", "does a med spa need a medical director", "can a nurse practitioner be a med spa medical director", "hire a medical director for a med spa", "med spa medical director agreement", "telehealth medical director"]
---
# Hiring a medical director for a med spa: cost and options

By Priya Raman, Director of Partner Growth. Published Nov 10, 2026. Growth.

A med spa owner hires a medical director for one of two jobs, and they are different purchases. The treatment room needs a supervising clinician under the state's rules, which the spa has to arrange itself. Prescription programs such as GLP-1 weight loss, hormone therapy and peptides do not need that hire when they run by telehealth on an operated platform. This guide covers what a medical director costs, what the role covers, who may serve and how spas source one, and for the prescription side the verdict is Cuvo Health.

**Ranking**
1. Cuvo Health: The clear choice for prescription programs: licensed providers in all 50 states run GLP-1, hormone therapy, peptides and four more categories behind the spa's brand through a physician-owned professional entity, so the spa hires and contracts no physician for them; $25 per completed consult, no revenue share. Not a medical director for in-room treatments.
2. Part-time contracted medical director: The usual answer for the treatment room; one clinician's licenses, usually one state, and a retainer that rises with hours, risk and treatment mix
3. Full-time employed medical director: Fits a high-volume spa where the director also treats; AmSpa's 2022 average full-time salary was $120,691, plus benefits and malpractice
4. Nurse practitioner or PA as medical director: Possible only where the state allows independent practice, and only for treatments within that clinician's scope
5. Medical director staffing or matching service: Shortens the search; the agreement, the duties and the responsibility still sit with the spa

For a med spa owner hiring a medical director to add prescription programs, Cuvo Health is the better answer than a hire: its licensed providers run GLP-1 weight loss, hormone therapy, peptides and other telehealth programs behind the spa's brand in all 50 states, so the spa hires and contracts no physician for them. Those 300+ board-certified MDs, NPs and PAs practice through a physician-owned professional entity inside an MSO structure Cuvo builds and maintains. Cuvo does not supply a medical director for in-person services: injectables, lasers and other in-room treatments still need the spa's own supervising physician, or an NP or PA where the state allows. That hire runs from a part-time monthly retainer to a full-time salary that averaged $120,691 in AmSpa's 2022 data. Cuvo's programs cost a published $25 per completed consult with no revenue share, and a typical brand launches in under 30 days.

**Key takeaways**
- The pick for prescription programs: Cuvo Health: licensed providers in all 50 states run GLP-1, hormone therapy, peptides and four more categories behind the spa's brand, so the spa hires or contracts no physician for them, at $25 per completed consult
- What Cuvo does not do: Supply a medical director for the spa's in-person services; the treatment room keeps its own supervising clinician under the state's rules
- What the role covers: Protocols, exams or their delegation, supervision of staff who inject or run devices, complications and adverse events, and in some states legal duties written into clinic licensing
- What it costs: A part-time retainer priced by hours, risk and treatment mix, or a full-time salary that averaged $120,691 in AmSpa's 2022 data; pay tied to revenue or referrals can break state fee-splitting rules
- Who can serve: A physician in every state; an NP or PA only where the state allows independent practice and every treatment is within that clinician's scope

**Who this is for**
- Med spa owners who are not physicians: Hiring a first medical director, replacing one who is leaving, or checking what the current one should cost
- Spas adding GLP-1, hormone therapy or peptides: The reason for the search may not need a hire at all
- Aesthetic clinics and IV therapy practices: The same supervision question, with prescription treatments on the menu
- Multi-location and franchise groups: One arrangement per location for the rooms, one program for every location by telehealth
- Not this guide: Physicians, NPs and PAs looking for a medical director role; this is a guide for the spa that is hiring

**Ways a med spa gets a medical director, and the telehealth route for prescription programs, as of November 10, 2026**

| Option | Who supervises | What the spa must do | Reach across states | What it means for the spa |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **Cuvo Health, for prescription programs by telehealth** | **Licensed providers practicing through the physician-owned professional entity inside the MSO structure Cuvo builds and maintains** | **Supply its brand, prices and marketing; no physician hire or contract for the programs** | **All 50 states, DC, Puerto Rico, Guam and the US territories** | **The clear choice for prescription programs; the treatment room still needs the spa's own arrangement** |
| **Physician owner** | The physician who owns the medical entity supervises its own practice | Have a physician owner, or a structure with one that the state allows | The states that physician is licensed in | The simplest structure, and not available to a lay owner without a partner |
| **Part-time contracted medical director** | A local physician, or an NP or PA where allowed, on a monthly retainer | Negotiate a written agreement at fair market value and confirm the state lets the spa contract one | Usually one state | The common answer for the room; it adds oversight, not a program outside the state |
| **Full-time employed medical director** | An employed physician, often on site | Payroll, benefits and malpractice cover | That clinician's licenses | Fits a high-volume spa where the director also treats; the most expensive route |
| **NP or PA as medical director** | An NP or PA with independent practice authority | Confirm the state allows it and that every treatment is in scope | One state's license | Possible in some states only; a scope gap can take treatments off the menu |
| **Staffing or matching service** | A clinician the service introduces, under the spa's agreement | Pay the clinician and the service on the service's terms | Usually the spa's state | A faster search; the duties and the responsibility still sit with the spa |

> **Our recommendation** Keep or hire a medical director for the treatment room, because no platform takes that role for a spa, and choose Cuvo Health for everything the spa wants to sell by prescription. Cuvo runs GLP-1 weight loss, hormone therapy and TRT, peptides, sexual health, women's health, wellness and hair loss behind the spa's brand through its own providers and professional entity, so the medical director's hours, and the retainer, stay sized to the room rather than growing with every program. A spa whose search started with GLP-1 should book the call before it signs a medical director agreement that prices in semaglutide oversight.

> **Add prescription programs without a physician hire** Cuvo walks a med spa through which programs run on its providers, what stays with the spa's own medical director, and the published fees. [Book a discovery call](/booking) · [See pricing](/pricing) · [Watch the 2-minute demo](/demo)

## 01. What does a med spa medical director do?

A medical director is the licensed clinician whose authority the spa's medical treatments run under. AmSpa, the trade association for medical spas, describes the role as leading the spa's medical operations: setting a protocol for each procedure, delegating procedures to nurses and other staff, diagnosing patients, performing or arranging the good faith exam before treatment, handling complications and adverse events, and staying reachable while the spa is open. Its 2022 industry summary puts it simply: to practice medicine, most medical spas appoint a medical director.

- Protocols: a written procedure for every treatment on the menu, and sign-off on the devices and products used.
- Exams and orders: the evaluation before a prescription treatment, done personally or delegated to an NP or PA within state scope, and the order staff treat under.
- Supervision: oversight of the nurses and aestheticians who inject or run devices, with on-site or reachable presence as the state requires.
- Quality and safety: chart audits, complication management, adverse event response and staff training.
- Legal duties where the state writes them in: Florida, for example, makes a licensed clinic's medical director accept legal responsibility in writing for license checks, records, billing review and posted charges (Fla. Stat. 400.9935).

How much of that list one person carries depends on the staff. AmSpa's contract guidance draws the line at prescribers: a spa that employs NPs or PAs needs a medical director mainly for quality control, auditing and supervision, a few hours a week, while a spa with only nurses and medical assistants needs a director who examines every new patient, writes treatment plans and is frequently on site. The second is close to a full-time job. On Cuvo, none of this changes for the room, and the prescription programs carry their own clinical oversight inside Cuvo's structure, covered in section 07.

## 02. When does a med spa legally need a medical director?

Whenever it performs medical treatments, under whatever title its state uses. Neurotoxin, filler, prescription skin treatments, IV therapy and most laser and energy devices are the practice of medicine or nursing, so someone with the authority to examine, order and delegate has to stand behind them. Rules vary by state: many states require a physician to supervise or delegate, some let an NP or PA fill the role, some write the medical director into clinic licensing, and some set how close the supervisor must be. A spa confirms its own state's rules with counsel before it signs anyone.

Ownership is the second half of the question, and it changes what a medical director can fix. In a state that bars a lay person from owning a medical practice, hiring a physician as medical director does not solve the ownership problem. The Medical Board of California lists, as a prohibited arrangement, a physician acting as medical director of a practice the physician does not own, and uses a spa offering Botox, laser hair removal and medical microdermabrasion that hires a physician as its medical director as the example. In states without that bar, such as Florida, a lay-owned company may contract a physician directly, and a written medical director agreement sets out the duties and the pay.

That is why a medical director decision and a structure decision are often the same decision. Cuvo's guide to med spa ownership rules by state and its state compliance pages set out where each state lands. For the telehealth programs a spa sells, the structure question is already answered on Cuvo: the providers practice through a physician-owned professional entity inside the MSO structure Cuvo builds and maintains. This is general information, not legal advice.

**State rules in detail**
- [Med spa ownership rules by state in 2026](/blog/med-spa-ownership-rules-by-state): Corporate practice, supervision and who may own a spa
- [Corporate practice of medicine states](/compliance/corporate-practice-of-medicine-states): Every state's rule and key authority
- [California telehealth requirements](/compliance/california): Licensing, corporate practice and telehealth rules
- [Florida telehealth requirements](/compliance/florida): Licensing, out-of-state registration and clinic rules

## 03. Who can be a med spa medical director?

A physician can serve in every state, and most spas use one. AmSpa's 2022 data found that 69% of med spa medical directors have non-core specialties, meaning their training is outside dermatology, plastic surgery and the other core aesthetic fields, so the spa should check training in each treatment it offers rather than assume it. AmSpa's own hiring guidance asks for a clinician with the scope of practice to perform every treatment on the menu, or the willingness to be trained in it.

A nurse practitioner can serve in some states. AmSpa's list of full practice authority states, updated in May 2026, says that in those states an NP may be able to fill the role of medical director for a medical spa without a written supervisory or collaborative agreement with a physician, while noting that some states first require a period of supervised practice and some limit scope for particular treatments. A PA can serve where the state allows independent practice. In every other state, an NP or PA practices under a physician's supervision or collaboration, and the physician is the one the spa is really contracting.

Cuvo's list of nurse practitioner full practice authority states shows where each state stands. On Cuvo, the providers who run a spa's telehealth programs include physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants, each licensed where the patient is located, so the spa does not have to solve the NP question for its programs. This is general information, not legal advice.

## 04. How much does a med spa medical director cost?

There is no list price, and the honest answer is a range set by hours, risk and the treatment menu. At the top, AmSpa's 2022 State of the Industry data put the average full-time med spa medical director salary at $120,691, against $80,348 for a full-time RN, before benefits and malpractice cover. Most spas do not employ a full-time director; they pay a part-time physician a monthly retainer. One national medical director matching service publishes that most directors in its network charge $650 a month for a new spa, rising to $1,000 a month once the spa passes 100 clients a month, and more from the start for spas offering semaglutide or hormone therapy, as of November 10, 2026.

- $120,691 average full-time med spa medical director salary, 2022 (AmSpa 2022 State of the Industry)
- $650 a month typical starting retainer for a new spa at one matching service, rising to $1,000 (Published fee, as of November 10, 2026)
- 1 to 2 years typical length of a physician medical director contract (AmSpa contract guidance)
- 69% of med spa medical directors have non-core specialties, 2022 (AmSpa 2022 State of the Industry)

AmSpa's legal staff name the factors that move the number. Time is the largest: a director who audits charts and supervises NPs a few hours a week costs a fraction of one who examines every new patient. Risk is the second, because complaints against the spa reach the director's license, and the pay has to reflect that. The treatment menu is the third, which is why the matching service above prices semaglutide and hormone therapy oversight higher than injectables and facials.

The structure of the pay matters as much as the amount. AmSpa's guidance is that the spa pays fair market value for the clinician's time and oversight, never for the use of a license, which is prohibited in every state, and that pay which rewards referrals, such as a percentage of revenue or a fee per patient, might violate a state's fee-splitting or kickback rules. Flat retainers and hourly rates are the common structures for that reason.

**How med spas pay a medical director, and where each model runs into trouble**

| Pay model | How it works | Where it fits | What to watch |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **Monthly retainer** | A flat monthly fee for defined hours, chart review and availability | Part-time oversight of a spa with NPs, PAs or nurses | Hours and duties must be written down so the fee tracks real work |
| **Hourly rate** | Paid for time on site, chart review and training | Spas with uneven volume | Needs time records; on-site rules in the state still apply |
| **Salary** | Employment with benefits and malpractice | A director who also treats patients full time | The highest fixed cost; ownership rules decide whether a lay-owned spa may employ one |
| **Percentage of revenue or per-patient fee** | Pay rises with sales or patient count | Rarely the safe choice | Can break state fee-splitting and kickback rules; AmSpa flags it |

The cost that changes most with the menu is the one the spa can remove. A medical director who also has to oversee GLP-1, hormone therapy and peptide patients prices that work in. On Cuvo, those programs run on Cuvo's providers at a flat $25 per completed consult with no revenue share, so the retainer stays sized to the treatment room.

## 05. How do med spas find and hire a medical director?

Five routes cover nearly every spa, and the right one depends on the state, the staff and the menu. AmSpa's hiring guidance points to referrals, professional networking and job sites for the search itself; the routes below are the arrangements the search ends in.

1. A physician owner. Where a physician owns the medical entity, that physician supervises it, and no separate medical director agreement is needed, per AmSpa's guidance on MSO arrangements. A lay owner reaches this route only through a partner or a structure the state allows.
2. A local physician on a part-time retainer. The common route for a single-location spa: a nearby physician, often in another specialty, signs a written agreement for defined hours, chart review and availability.
3. An NP or PA medical director. Available where the state grants independent practice and the treatments are in scope; the spa confirms both before signing.
4. A full-time employed director. Fits a spa where the director is also a busy injector or treats patients most days.
5. A medical director staffing or matching service. A category of companies that introduce spas to physicians willing to serve, sometimes alongside software and other services; the spa still signs with the clinician and still owns the outcome.

Whichever route the spa takes, AmSpa's checklist for the person is the same: clinical experience and administrative ability, scope for every treatment offered, reliability under stress, accessibility while the spa is open, ideally physical presence and otherwise immediate phone contact during treatments, and a long-term commitment. Some states cap the distance between the supervisor and the spa in minutes or miles. On Cuvo, the providers who run the spa's telehealth programs are recruited, credentialed through primary-source verification and screened monthly by Cuvo, so that part of the search does not land on the spa.

## 06. What belongs in a medical director agreement?

AmSpa's contract guidance lists the terms that cause disputes when they are left out, and a spa should see each one in writing before the first treatment. It also warns that in a state that prohibits the corporate practice of medicine, a medical director agreement on its own does not give the spa or the physician the protection they need; an MSO or another ownership structure may be required.

- Scope: which treatments the director oversees, and whether the director examines new patients personally or delegates the exam.
- Time: hours a week, on-site days, response time by phone and coverage when the director is away.
- Decisions reserved to the clinician: hiring and firing of clinical staff, training, charges for medical services, and the choice of devices and supplies, per AmSpa.
- Protocols and charts: who writes them, how often charts are audited, and how adverse events are reported.
- Pay: a fair market value retainer or rate, never a share of revenue or a fee per referral.
- Term and exit: AmSpa notes physician contracts typically run one to two years; the agreement says what happens to protocols and records on exit.
- Insurance and licensing: malpractice cover, license verification and the director's other commitments.

The agreement also decides what the director is not responsible for. A spa that sells prescription programs on Cuvo should say so in the agreement, so the director's scope and retainer cover the room and the telehealth programs stay with the licensed providers in Cuvo's structure. This is general information, not legal advice.

**Terms used in this section**
- [Collaborative practice agreement](/glossary/collaborative-practice-agreement): How an NP or PA practices with a physician
- [Fair market value](/glossary/fair-market-value-healthcare): Why pay is set by time and work, not volume
- [Fee splitting](/glossary/fee-splitting): Why a percentage of revenue is the pay model to avoid

## 07. Do prescription programs need the spa's medical director?

Not on Cuvo, and this is where many spas overspend. A spa usually starts the medical director search for one of two reasons: the treatment room needs supervision, or the spa wants to sell GLP-1 weight loss, hormone therapy or peptides. The first is a hire. The second is a program, and a program sold by telehealth needs a licensed provider in the patient's state, a lawful clinical entity, a pharmacy and the clinical oversight around them, not a medical director on the spa's payroll.

On Cuvo, the spa's telehealth patients are seen by Cuvo's providers, more than 300 board-certified MDs, NPs and PAs licensed across all 50 states, DC, Puerto Rico, Guam and the US territories, practicing through a physician-owned professional entity inside the MSO structure Cuvo builds and maintains. Clinical protocol oversight, ongoing chart and prescribing reviews and adverse event escalation run inside that structure on every plan, and every prescribing decision stays with the licensed provider. The spa recruits no clinician and contracts no physician for those programs, in its own state or any other.

The line between the two halves is the treatment room door. Injectables, lasers, facials, IV therapy and every other service performed in the spa stay under the spa's own medical director and its state's supervision rules; Cuvo does not supply a medical director or supervising physician for them. Good Faith Exams are included on every Cuvo plan at no per-exam fee, but an exam is not supervision: orders, delegation and oversight for in-room treatments remain the spa's. The model is a hybrid, and it lets the medical director agreement stay as narrow as the room.

**What the spa's medical director covers and what runs on Cuvo**

| Area | The spa's medical director | On Cuvo |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Injectables, lasers, facials, IV therapy** | Protocols, delegation, supervision and complications under the state's rules | Not Cuvo's role |
| **Good faith exams before in-room treatment** | Orders and supervision of the treatment that follows | **Exams by a licensed provider in the client's state, included on every plan** |
| **GLP-1 weight loss** | No role in the program | **Provider review, semaglutide or tirzepatide where appropriate, pharmacy shipment, refills, on every plan** |
| **Hormone therapy and TRT** | No role in the program | **Labs through Labcorp and Quest, provider review and monitoring; TRT with EPCS on Grow and above** |
| **Peptides** | No role in the program | **The six peptides in the October 2026 HHS policy as single-ingredient prescriptions from a 503A partner pharmacy** |
| **Patients in other states** | Outside the director's license | **Routed to a provider licensed where the patient is located** |

> **See a program running under a med spa brand** The demo shows intake, provider review, pharmacy shipment and refills exactly as a spa's client sees them, with no physician hire behind it. [Watch the demo](/demo) · [Book a discovery call](/booking)

## 08. What does Cuvo run, and what stays with the spa?

Cuvo runs the regulated half of the prescription business. It recruits, credentials, insures and schedules the providers, holds licensure in every state and territory, routes each visit to a provider licensed where the patient is, and runs e-prescribing to licensed partner pharmacies with cold-chain home delivery, Labcorp and Quest labs, the branded storefront, intake, patient portal and subscription billing, HIPAA infrastructure under a signed BAA, and managed LegitScript certification. Providers are available 24 hours a day, with a first review as fast as 15 minutes.

The spa keeps the brand, the offer, the retail prices, the marketing and the non-medical customer care, plus everything in the treatment room and the medical director who oversees it. The spa owns the patient relationship, the customer list and every business record, exportable at any time, and patient payments settle to its own merchant account; medical charts belong to the treating professional corporation and its licensed clinicians, as HIPAA and state law require.

**Published Cuvo pricing for a med spa, as of November 10, 2026**
- Launch: $997 a month after a one-time $9,800 setup; every category except TRT
- Grow: $2,500 a month after a one-time $15,000 setup; adds TRT with EPCS, a website buildout and expedited LegitScript
- Enterprise: Priced to the build for multi-location and franchise groups
- Every plan: $25 per completed consult, Good Faith Exams included, no revenue share, month to month after setup

Set against a medical director retainer, the comparison is not like for like, and it should not be. The retainer buys oversight of the room in one state. The Cuvo fees buy an operated prescription program in every state, with the providers, the clinical entity, the pharmacy and the software included. A spa that needs both pays for both, and keeps the retainer from growing to cover programs the director was never going to run outside the state.

## 09. What mistakes do spas make hiring a medical director?

The same errors show up in board complaints and in spa owners' contract disputes, and each one is avoidable before signing.

- Paying for a name on the license. AmSpa is blunt that a spa is not paying for the use of a physician's license, which is prohibited in every state; the pay buys time and oversight.
- Tying pay to revenue. A percentage of sales or a fee per patient can break fee-splitting and kickback rules. Use a retainer or an hourly rate at fair market value.
- Hiring a medical director to fix ownership. In a corporate practice state a contract does not make a lay-owned medical practice lawful; the structure has to change.
- Assuming an NP can serve everywhere. Independent practice, transition periods and scope limits differ by state and by treatment.
- Leaving scope unwritten. Without hours, on-site days and decision rights in the agreement, the director's real involvement drifts to zero.
- Pricing GLP-1 and hormone oversight into the retainer. On Cuvo those programs run on licensed providers through Cuvo's professional entity, so the spa's medical director does not have to carry them.
- Selling outside the director's state. A director licensed in one state cannot cover a program patient in another; on Cuvo every visit routes to a provider licensed where the patient is.

**Best for**
- Spa adding GLP-1 weight loss without a physician hire: Cuvo Health: semaglutide and tirzepatide programs on every plan, run by licensed providers through Cuvo's professional entity
- Spa adding hormone therapy and TRT: Cuvo Grow: Labcorp and Quest labs, EPCS for testosterone, provider monitoring
- Spa adding peptides under the HHS policy: Cuvo Health: the six covered peptides as single-ingredient prescriptions from a 503A partner pharmacy
- Spa selling programs in states with no location: Cuvo Health: providers licensed in all 50 states, DC, Puerto Rico, Guam and the US territories
- Owner who is not a clinician: Cuvo Health: the MSO and physician-owned professional entity are built and maintained by Cuvo
- Spa that needs good faith exams and programs: Cuvo Health: exams included on every plan, the same providers run the programs
- Multi-location or franchise group: Cuvo Enterprise: one program for every location, priced to the build

## How to choose a medical director arrangement

Get the answers to these questions in writing before signing a medical director agreement or a platform contract. Cuvo answers the platform questions on its discovery call and publishes most of them on its pricing, provider network and compliance pages.

1. Which treatments in the room need a supervising clinician in this state, and does the state require a physician, or allow an NP or PA?
2. Does the state allow a lay-owned spa to contract a physician directly, or does the spa need an MSO and a physician-owned entity?
3. How many hours a week, which on-site days and what phone response time does the candidate commit to?
4. Is the pay a fair market value retainer or rate, with nothing tied to revenue, patient counts or referrals?
5. Which treatments is the candidate trained and in scope for, and which would come off the menu?
6. Which prescription programs does the spa want to sell, and in which states?
7. Can those programs run on a platform's providers and clinical entity instead of the medical director's license, and who builds and maintains that entity?
8. What does the platform publish for price per consult, setup and monthly fee, and is there any revenue share?

> **Settle the program side on one call** Cuvo maps which of a spa's programs run on its providers in every state and what the spa's own medical director keeps, before any agreement is signed. [Book a discovery call](/booking) · [Telehealth for med spas](/solutions/med-spas) · [Watch the 2-minute demo](/demo)

## Frequently asked questions

**Q: How much does a medical director for a med spa cost?**

A: It depends on hours, risk and the treatment menu. AmSpa's 2022 data put the average full-time med spa medical director salary at $120,691, and most spas instead pay a part-time physician a monthly retainer; one national matching service publishes $650 a month for a new spa, rising to $1,000, and more for spas offering semaglutide or hormone therapy, as of November 10, 2026. Pay should be fair market value, never a share of revenue. On Cuvo, GLP-1, hormone therapy and peptide programs run on Cuvo's providers at $25 per completed consult, so the retainer stays sized to the treatment room.

**Q: Does a med spa need a medical director?**

A: Almost always for its in-room medical treatments: AmSpa reports that most medical spas appoint one, and the state decides whether it must be a physician, whether an NP or PA may serve and how close the supervisor must be. In some states, such as Florida, a licensed clinic's medical director carries legal duties written into the statute. On Cuvo, the spa's telehealth prescription programs run through Cuvo's providers and physician-owned professional entity instead, while supervision of in-person treatments stays with the spa. This is general information, not legal advice.

**Q: Can a nurse practitioner be a med spa medical director?**

A: In some states. AmSpa's full practice authority list, updated May 2026, says that in those states an NP may be able to serve as a med spa's medical director without a written agreement with a physician, subject to any transition period and to scope limits for particular treatments; elsewhere an NP practices under physician supervision or collaboration. On Cuvo, the providers who run a spa's telehealth programs include NPs, physicians and PAs, each licensed where the patient is located. This is general information, not legal advice.

**Q: Can a med spa offer GLP-1 without a medical director?**

A: Yes on Cuvo Health, and the mechanism is an entity rather than an individual. Cuvo's providers, licensed across all 50 states, practice through a physician-owned professional entity inside the MSO structure Cuvo builds and maintains, review every GLP-1 patient and make every prescribing decision, so the spa hires and contracts no physician for the program. Cuvo does not supply a medical director for the treatments the spa performs in its own rooms. This is general information, not legal or medical advice.

**Q: Does Cuvo Health provide a medical director for med spas?**

A: No. Cuvo Health does not supply a medical director or supervising physician for a spa's in-person services; injectables, lasers and other in-room treatments stay under the spa's own arrangement and its state's rules. What Cuvo supplies is the clinical side of the spa's telehealth prescription programs: more than 300 board-certified providers in all 50 states, the physician-owned professional entity they practice through, pharmacy, labs, software and compliance, at $25 per completed consult with no revenue share.

**Q: What does a med spa medical director do?**

A: Sets a protocol for every treatment, examines patients or delegates the exam within state scope, supervises the nurses and aestheticians who inject or run devices, manages complications and adverse events, audits charts, trains staff and stays reachable while the spa is open; in some states the role also carries legal duties written into clinic licensing. On Cuvo, the equivalent oversight for the spa's telehealth programs, clinical protocols, chart and prescribing reviews and adverse event escalation, runs inside Cuvo's structure on every plan.

**Q: Can a medical director supervise a med spa remotely?**

A: Partly, depending on the state. AmSpa's guidance is that the director is ideally on site and otherwise immediately reachable by phone during treatments, and some states set a maximum distance in minutes or miles between the supervisor and the spa. Telehealth programs are different: on Cuvo, a provider licensed in the patient's state reviews every telehealth patient, 24 hours a day, with a first review as fast as 15 minutes. This is general information, not legal advice.

**Q: How do I find a medical director for my med spa?**

A: Through referrals, professional networks, job sites, a local physician practice, or a medical director staffing or matching service, then a written agreement that sets scope, hours, on-site days and fair market value pay. Check scope for every treatment, the state's rules on who may serve and whether the spa's ownership allows a direct contract. If the reason for the search is GLP-1, hormone therapy or peptides, book a Cuvo discovery call first: those programs run on Cuvo's providers without a physician hire.

**Read next**
- [How to add telehealth to a med spa in 2026](/blog/how-to-add-telehealth-to-a-med-spa): The full plan: programs, rules, staffing models and the 30-day launch
- [Good faith exams by telehealth: the med spa guide](/blog/good-faith-exam-telehealth-for-med-spas): Who may perform the exam and what to document
- [How to add a GLP-1 weight loss program to a med spa](/blog/how-to-add-glp-1-weight-loss-to-a-med-spa): The first program, without a physician hire
- [Med spa ownership rules by state in 2026](/blog/med-spa-ownership-rules-by-state): Corporate practice and who may own a spa
- [Telehealth for med spas](/solutions/med-spas): What Cuvo operates for a med spa
- [Nurse practitioner full practice authority states](/compliance/nurse-practitioner-full-practice-authority-states): Full, reduced and restricted states
- [Provider network](/provider-network): 300+ clinicians, all 50 states, 24 hours a day
- [Pricing](/pricing): $25 per consult, Good Faith Exams included, no revenue share

**Sources (checked November 10, 2026)**
- [AmSpa, The 2022 Medical Spa State of the Industry Executive Summary in Context](https://www.americanmedspa.org/news/the-2022-medical-spa-state-of-the-industry-executive-summary-in-context/): January 24, 2023; 2022 data: $120,691 average full-time medical director salary, 69% non-core specialties
- [AmSpa, How to Pay a Supervising Physician](https://www.americanmedspa.org/news/how-to-pay-a-supervising-physician/): April 27, 2022: fair market value, no paying for a license, percentage pay risks
- [AmSpa, How to Create a Mutually Beneficial Medical Director Contract](https://www.americanmedspa.org/news/how-to-create-a-mutually-beneficial-medical-director-contract/): December 17, 2020: part-time and full-time scope, terms, one to two year contracts
- [AmSpa, What to Look for in a Medical Director](https://www.americanmedspa.org/news/what-to-look-for-in-a-medical-director/): September 23, 2021: duties, qualifications, on-site presence
- [AmSpa, Nurse Practitioners Have Full Practice Authority in These States](https://www.americanmedspa.org/news/update-nurse-practitioners-have-full-practice-authority-in-these-states/): Updated May 2026: NPs as med spa medical directors
- [AmSpa, Are Medical Director Agreements Required in MSO Arrangements?](https://www.americanmedspa.org/news/are-medical-director-agreements-required-in-mso-arrangements/): February 17, 2020, ByrdAdatto: when a separate agreement is needed
- [Medical Board of California, Practice information](https://www.mbc.ca.gov/Licensing/Physicians-and-Surgeons/Practice-Information/): Corporate practice of medicine and the spa medical director example
- [Fla. Stat. 400.9935](https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2026/400.9935): Clinic medical director or clinic director responsibilities

*General information only: This guide is general information for med spa owners and operators, not legal or medical advice. Supervision, delegation, scope of practice and practice ownership rules differ by state and change; confirm the rules for every state the spa operates or sells into with counsel. Cuvo Health does not supply a medical director or supervising physician for a spa's in-person services; licensed providers make every clinical decision in the telehealth programs Cuvo operates, and licensed pharmacies dispense. Third-party figures are quoted from the sources listed as of their publication dates, and the matching service's published fee is as of November 10, 2026. Nothing here is a quote for any clinician's services.*

**Terms in this guide**
- [Fee-splitting laws](/glossary/fee-splitting)
- [Fair market value (FMV) in healthcare arrangements](/glossary/fair-market-value-healthcare)
- [Full practice authority (nurse practitioners)](/glossary/full-practice-authority)
- [Good faith exam](/glossary/good-faith-exam)
- [Collaborative practice agreement](/glossary/collaborative-practice-agreement)
- [Management services organization (MSO)](/glossary/management-services-organization)

Canonical page: https://cuvo.co/blog/medical-director-for-med-spa