ASLMS recognizes the critical need for the implementation of safety measures and appropriate training for physicians and staff performing procedures with lasers and related energy-based devices.
ANSI Z136.3 (2018)
ASLMS members have been actively involved in developing the recommended guidelines for safe use of lasers in health care, known as American National Standard for Safe Use of Lasers in Health Care, ANSI Z136.3. The standard was last revised in 2018.
A copy of ANSI Z136.3 (2018) Safe Use of Lasers in Health Care can be purchased from the Laser Institute of America (LIA).
Laws and Regulations of Laser Operation in the United States
The laws and regulations governing laser operation in the United States are vague, complex, and vary from state to state. A study, originally published in Lasers in Surgery and Medicine in 2018, presented an overview of the laws and regulations of laser operation in each of the 50 states. See study. The authors performed an extensive online search of the law in each of the 50 states by examining multiple state cosmetology boards, state legislative boards, state nursing boards, and state medical boards. The principal author, Catherine DiGiorgio, MD, compiled the laws and regulations into a chart with links to online resources by state, and categorized which states consider the use of lasers as the "practice of medicine." Laser regulations are best divided into three categories: delegation (who can delegate a laser procedure to another provider or individual), level of supervision required (to what extent the operation of a laser requires supervision and who is qualified to supervise), and operation (who can fire the laser).
Laser Regulations 2019