--- On Tue, 5/5/09, Gabriel de Figueiredo <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> You mean like registered GPs practicing acupuncture and
> Chinese herbals? If I am not mistaken, we have some of those
> here in Melbourne ...
>
I would be surprised if a licensed conventional physician is ethically allowed
to practice acupuncture without a separate specialized license in Melbourne.
The same with prescribing untested Chinese herbals. In the U.S. a physician
would lose his/her license for doing the former. In the latter case, he/she
would lose the license if it can be shown that the safety of the herbal
medication has not been established in relation to conventional treatment, and
the consequences of its interactions with conventional medications have not
been documented. Besides, such a physician exposes himself to be sued for
malpractice, and his/her malpractice insurance is unlikely to cover the damages.
Cheers,
Santosh
