There was a time when wellness was a soft option left to spas, and doctors focused on the real business of making people well.

But the two are coming together, as medical professionals begin to see that patients like being soothed and pampered alongside the less-enjoyable clinical treatments.

In the last couple of years, about 10 'medical spas' have opened here offering 'medical grade' spa treatments.

On top of ordinary facials, medical spas could offer dermabrasions or laser treatments for sagging skin and pigment problems - for the corresponding price premium, of course.

It is no wonder the medical community wants in. According to the Spa Association of Singapore, the business of wellness is worth over $120 million a year and growing by 15 per cent every year.

Here, the trend to marry medicine with spa pampering is driven largely by aesthetic clinics.

Some are spa-like, offering skin and body treatments in a soothing and sophisticated setting. But others have gone a step further by adding a spa to their practice.

One such business, medSpa, was set up in 2005, 'to integrate beauty and skin health', said one of its two directors, MsDeirdre Goh.

'Today, that concept is taking off rather quickly and I envisage it is going to explode in the next five years,' she said.

In the United States, doctor-run medical spas see an annual growth rate of 11 to 14 per cent.

Spas and aesthetic medicine make easy bedfellows.

Said Dr Low Chai Ling, medical director of The Sloane Clinic: 'We started off as a clinic. Then, our patients wanted treatments such as facials, scar removals and body contouring, done using medical means.'

Today the clinic has a boutique skin spa attached. The treatments offered, using lasers, hormones and thermage, cannot be found in an ordinary spa, said Dr Low.

'The products and therapies we use are clinical and prescription- based. They need to be carried out under medical supervision,' she said.

Plastic surgeon Ivor Lim, who is medSpa's medical director, said the focus is on customised and precise treatments that give visible results.

'MedSpa is able to offer medical-grade skin care as part of the treatment before or after surgery, or as a stand-alone treatment,' he said.

Another group which will open a spa at mid-year is DRx The Group, to complement its clinic, the DRx Clinic.

Spokesman Frank Thong said a medical spa also offers the wellness and relaxation benefits of a conventional spa.

'The medical part means a more quantifiable approach is adopted,' he said. For instance, when a client comes for a 'pick-me-up', EEGs will be used to track the level of stress or pain the client has before treatment and after treatment at the new medical spa.

An EEG, or electroencephalogram, is a diagnostic test which measures brain waves using highly sensitive recording equipment attached to the scalp.

Medical clinics, however, are required by law to operate their spas on separate premises. According to the Private Hospital and Medical Clinics (PHMC) Act, medical clinics must be physically separated from other non-medical business entities.

More than skin deep
While most of the medical spas in Singapore concentrate on skin and aesthetics, Ms Goh said this would change in time.

'In the US, there are cardio-medical spas where they ensure the clients are eating right and doing the appropriate exercises for heart health,' she said.

'We are beginning to see medical spas treating other medical conditions here too.'

For instance, there is a newly set-up sleep spa.

The Medical Sleep Spa, for those who suffer from insomnia or other sleep disorders, was set up at Paragon last month by Pacific Healthcare Holdings. It offers both medical and spa treatment to help the stressed-out sleep soundly.

Clients can hop over to the Pacific Sleep Centre, next door to the new spa, to consult sleep surgeon Kenny Pang.

They can then go to the sleep spa, to get a facial or a special massage.

Dr Pang decided on the integrated concept after patients he'd sent to other spas came back with good feedback.

'Spas target the body, but physical relaxation is not going to stop the stress. Medical treatment targets the mind, so that the mental state is at rest, and ready for sleep,' he said.

One of his patients, a regional business director of a multinational company, saw him after she could not sleep for eight days following a month of travelling in Asia and Europe for work.

The patient, who wanted to be known only as Ms Huang, 39, found sleep again with the help of medication and massages.

She said: 'A programme tailor-made for a certain disorder is much more helpful than going to one place for this treatment, and another place for something else.'

Another spa has decided it's smart business to offer treatments based on traditional and alternative therapies.

The Health Club employs two traditional Chinese medicine physicians and a chiropractor for back and spinal pain, and sports injuries.

Its chief executive, TV actress-turned-health-guru Jacelyn Tay, said she is investing in the concept as 'many people are seeking alternative treatments to achieving health'.

'We are an Asian society and people tend to be brought up on traditional Chinese treatment,' she said.

Big investments
Medical spa owners declined to say how much it costs to set one up, but medical microdermabrasion machines can cost more than US$18,000 (S$27,000) while top-line laser machines go for about US$160,000 in the United States.

Plastic surgeon Andrew Khoo, who does not own a medical spa, said: 'The lines are definitely blurring, with medical practitioners setting up medical spas and some spas hiring doctors as consultants. But it doesn't mean one profession should be resisting the other.'

Rather, Dr Khoo said there should be a synergy to benefit the patient.

'Singaporeans still prefer to seek treatment for a medical condition at a clinic setting and go to a spa for relaxation. They want to keep the two separate. Who knows? This could change quite soon,' he said.

The proliferation of medical spas may see a need for new liability and safety precautions. In any case, all medical practitioners are bound by Ministry of Health (MOH) regulations.

These spell out the kind of treatment doctors can provide, including beauty treatments involving surgery, lasers, injections and drugs.

Said an MOH spokesman: 'The credibility of such doctors is diminished if they do not practise professionally and responsibly. This holds true for any kind of medical treatment and management.'

E-mail: juditht@sph.com.sg, huichieh@sph.com.sg