The value of Oriental medicine and acupuncture might be overlooked if we just plug it into the current system as it is now. Safety and regulation are other important issues that CAM practitioners have a duty to address, says Andrew Rubman, a doctor of naturopathic medicine and the medical director at the Southbury Clinic for Traditional Medicines in Connecticut. For their protection, they need to be educated about how the vitamins and botanical medicines they take interact with prescription drugs. We need to make sure that those who are dispensing education about CAM are properly trained. Most MDs aren't knowledgeable about botanical medicines, either, Rubman continues.
Allopathic physicians are masters at prescribing drugs and performing surgery.
Federal agencies and state health departments need to enact regulations regarding the prescription of botanicals and formal licensing processes for naturopathic physicians, he states.