CAMLAW: Complementary and Alternative Medicine Law Blog : Complementary, Alternative, & Integrative Medicine Law, Regulation, Ethics & Policy (Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Medical Spa Information, Holistic Health Attorney, and Legal Resources)

Telemedicine and other online health services pose novel legal issues, but these tele-health practices are the wave of the future.

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If you open a practice as a lay hypnotherapist, are you violating any laws?

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Arizona has introduced legislation to allow non-licensed practitioners of homeopathy and nutrition to offer health care services.

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You won't always find telemedicine legal exceptions in the telemedicine box of a given state's laws.

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Because telemedicine laws vary by state, and the health care professional offering medical services to patients out-of-state is subject to the laws of both the home and the remote state, it is critical to get the right legal guidance.

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Every state has legal rules that restrict practice boundaries (scope of practice) for non-medical health care professionals, such as acupuncturists, chiropractors, nurses and psychologists.

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Some states, such as New York, spell out clearly who can offer health care practices and the legal definitions for and boundaries of these practices.

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Corporate practice of medicine rules can be quite complex, and range from "strong" to "weak" doctrines.

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Recently we have seen a surge of clients seeking attorneys who can provide legal advice on telemedicine laws.

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California is one of the states licensing naturopathic doctors.

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Homeopathy is bunk, skeptics continue to claim.

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Australia accelerates CAM accreditation in a lead story about naturopathy.

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India is looking again at credentialing complementary and alternative medicine practitioners, who are really doing traditional healing methods.

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This federal court case involving unlicensed health care practice sheds light on some CAM testing methods.

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An acupuncturist not only had his license revoked by the Department of Health, but also was charged with violating the unlicensed health care practices law.

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Is it the illegal practice of medicine to offer health advice by phone in tele-consults across state lines?

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One of the legal issues non-licensed practitioners of complementary health must consider is advice on nutrition and diet.

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Does physician practice of energy healing raise legal, ethical, and regulatory boundary issues?

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Medical regulations governing patient privacy exist at the state as well as federal level.

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Florida apparently has some cases against unlicensed practitioners of alternative medicine, including naturopathic and energy healing providers.

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Can a licensed or non-licensed health care provider use a machine that gives 'energy readings' and seems to help patients?

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Since we were just looking at Attorney General legal opinions, this next sample shows clear legal analysis on a particular health care turf battle.

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Can chiropractors and osteopaths share the same professional corporation, since both provide overlap health care services?

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Whether energy healing can be considered the unlicensed practice of medicine depends on laws in a given state.

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Jennifer Huget writes a wonderful blog on health care issues for the Washington Post.

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Vermont has an interesting way of legally handling non-licensed healers and other complementary and alternative medicine practitioners.

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A new UK case shows the dangers of unlicensed practice of medicine.

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The White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy once asked me whether naturopathic physicians should be licensed in all states.

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New and improved Connecticut massage therapy legislation has arrived.

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Massage therapy licensure, certification, and national examination issues are canvassed in a piece questioning membership requirements.

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How do you know whether a specific CAM practice -- say, hypnotherapy -- is 'legal' or 'illegal' in a specific state?

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Physician assistants have licensing authority to write prescriptions in forty-nine states plus the District of Columbia.

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Massage licensing, credentialing and the NCBTMB (National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork): some comments and corrections from a massage therapist who tracks regulatory trends.

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Massage therapy licensing requirements vary by state (some states regulate by town ordinance), although once again the Department of Labor website has some helpful information about massage therapy licensure rules.

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Psychologists, Counselors, and Mind-Body Professionals: what's the difference?

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The Mind-Body-Spirit Journal suggests that naturopathic physicians need to rebrand themselves so as to better distinguish "medically-trained" MD's from lay naturopaths, both of which are sometimes known as "naturopathic doctors."

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Congress has enacted legislation removing the restriction that universities have at least 50% of education in-residence, opening the door for more distance education.

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Prosecution of an Indiana midwife for practicing medicine without a license shows that criminal enforcement of medical licensing laws against practitioners continues.

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How do legal licensure requirement affect alterantive practitioners and the furnishing of medical (or other health) advise by phone or online?

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The debate continues across the country, including recently Colorado, where an unlicensed "naturopath" treated a pediatric cancer patient by injecting him with hydrogen peroxide.

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The National Acupuncture Foundation has just re-released the popular Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine State Laws & Regulations book.

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According to the February issue of Fast Company, a magazine and website that chronicles how the business world is changing, the chiropractic profession is ranked fourth among the nation's top jobs to pursue in the next five years.

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On February 25th, 2005 governor Bill Rounds of South Dakota signed a new law that will regulate the state's massage therapy profession.

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The state of South Carolina amended its medical practice statutes by adding the "Acupuncture Act of South Carolina."

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U.S. News and World Report recently reported on "the subtle yet revolutionary changes in the way Americans receive their healthcare," changes that have implications for integration of complementary and alternative medical therapies into hospitals and mainstream health care."

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How do you know whether a physician is properly certified as a holistic and integrative medicine doctor? The answer isn't easy, because the field is new, and lots of providers would like to claim the title.

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It's important to remember that a variety of personnel may be offering CAM services: physicians; allied health providers (such as nurses); and CAM providers (such as acupuncturists).

Physicians typically get privileges as members of the hospital staff; such privileges will need to be modified to add specified CAM therapies. This may be heavily contested or negotiated with the hospital's medical executive committee.

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"The movement toward national teaching standards in yoga ("Wag the Down Dog", May/June 00, p. 80) is part of a larger spiral toward greater standardization, uniformity, and professional coherence in complementary and alternative medical ("CAM") modalities generally," Michael wrote in Yoga Journal letters to the editor (July 2000).

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California became the 13th state to allow graduates of accredited institutions to practice to the full extent of their education and training in naturopathic medicine.

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