Since you've asked, here some "clips": Note: As you probably know, Monash University is one of the leading universities in Australia which imparts study of medicine...
http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/aug17/easthope/easthope.html Acupuncture in Australian general practice: practitioner characteristics There is interest among general practitioners (GPs) in therapies that are not part of traditional medical practice: alternative or complementary therapies.A recent MJA editorial stated that: "If 50% of Australians are using alternative treatments each year, it is essential that doctors recognise this fact and be prepared to discuss such use with their patients in a non-judgemental manner", while American physicians are exhorted "to begin now to integrate some aspects of alternative medicine into family practice". General practitioners are heeding this exhortation; alternative treatments are used by 16% of GPs in Britain and Canada, and by 30% in New Zealand. In Germany, which has a tradition of incorporating alternative therapies into orthodox medicine, 95% of GPs use them. Even doctors who do not use such therapies refer patients to medical and non-medical practitioners, at rates ranging from 41% of doctors in Israel to 80% in New Zealand. Non-medical practitioners report that about 10% of their patients are referred from doctors. Acupuncture is frequently reported in studies of GPs' use of alternative therapies overseas. Meta-analyses on acupuncture, homoeopathy and spinal manipulation do not provide evidence for their efficacy, apart from acupuncture for adult postoperative and chemotherapy nausea and postoperative dental pain, and spinal manipulation for lower-back pain. Other explanations for adoption of these therapies by doctors must therefore be sought. The fact that medicine is a profession in which clinical judgement is considered paramount is important. Interviews with doctors using alternative therapies in Queensland found they justified such use on the basis of clinical experience. We studied use of acupuncture to examine doctors' use of alternative therapies. The primary reason for selecting acupuncture was that information on use was available from Medicare data; a specific item in the Medicare Benefits Schedule (now, item 173; before 1991, item 980) has been used at any attendance where acupuncture was performed by a medical practitioner since 1984. Other alternative therapies do not attract a rebate or are not clearly specified. Acupuncture is of interest in that its cost to Medicare is calculable. ..... http://medicalboardvic.org.au/content.php?sec=96 Endorsing Registration For Acupuncture Since 1 January 2005, all medical practitioners who practise acupuncture must be registered with the Chinese Medicine Registration Board or have their registration endorsed by the Medical Practitioners Board of Victoria. Doctors practising other forms of Chinese Medicine are required to be registered by the Chinese Medicine Registration Board. The Chinese Medicine Registration Act 2000 came into operation on 1 January 2002 establishing the Chinese Medicine Registration Board. The primary role of the Chinese Medicine Registration Board is to protect the public by registering practitioners of Chinese medicine to ensure only suitably qualified people who meet approved competency standards are registered as Chinese medicine practitioners in Victoria. Health practitioners who are already registered with another health board that has endorsed their registration to practise Chinese medicine are exempt from registering with the Chinese Medicine Registration Board. .... http://www.monash.edu.au/study/coursefinder/course/2678/ Graduate Certificate in Medical Acupuncture for 2009 Course overview This course is designed for registered general practitioners who wish to gain an understanding of the history and philosophy of acupuncture, and to see clearly its interlocking role in modern medical care. They will acquire the skills to address the facets of illness which are important in an acupuncture diagnosis and be able to begin practising medical acupuncture with confidence on their own patients in appropriate clinical conditions. Non-pharmacological pain management strategies are also covered. The program is supported by the Australian Medical Acupuncture College. The four core units cover history and philosophy, channels and points in acupuncture, physiology and assessment of pain, acupuncture techniques and therapeutics and clinical practice. Hope this helps ... Gabriel. ----- Original Message ---- From: Santosh Helekar <[email protected]> To: estb. 1994!Goa's premiere mailing list <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, 6 May, 2009 12:11:53 AM Subject: Re: [Goanet] Career in Ayurveda! --- 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 Enjoy a safer web experience. Upgrade to the new Internet Explorer 8 optimised for Yahoo!7. Get it now.
