This topic came up at the day job today and I thought I'd remind folks about because I was really surprised the gal I was talking to wasn't aware of it. She also is a complimentary therapist of sorts (outside of the day job) --- trained in reflexology, martial arts, qi gong & tai chi, and in fact teaches a mixture of qi gong/tai chi/yoga.
I told her I'd been researching some alternative cancer therapies (my mom died from cancer in 2004) and we started talking about the MDs (allopathic physicians) and how some are very open to them, some aren't, some will discuss them, and some won't, and so forth. Some of the MDs she knew in her personal life, not as a patient, would talk about other, older therapies in that setting but not with patients. All of this is because of the AMA --- American Medical Association.
What I shared with her that I discovered several years ago when I was having some major 2nd chakra issues and ended up have outpatient surgery and then continuing treatment w/ an acupuncturist, a gifted energy healer (my guru/teacher), and took some major supplements to clear the rest of the problem naturally over the course of a year, was something I hadn't been aware of and probably never would have been if my acupuncturist hadn't told me. In the US, medical doctors can only discuss herbs and complimentary therapies if you ask them about it or bring it up first. They cannot bring it up or talk about it until you do. This is because of an AMA rule.
Back then, my regular doc couldn't do the surgery I needed because she has rheumatoid arthritis in her hands, so we brought in another doc in her office at the time. (My doc has since then gone out on her own, which is a good thing because there were definitely some characters in that office!) This other doc was younger, whizzed thru high school & college & med school early, and was also very familiar with herbs. But when I saw her, and every time I saw her (even after I brought up the herbs), the energy around her was confused, conflicted, and even downright hostile! And I had no freakin' idea why, but was just very glad when I didn't have to see her anymore! :)
During one of my acupuncture sessions I mentioned this to my acupuncturist. (She works a LOT w/ MDs on female fertility issues and so knows a lot more about how they (the MDs) work w/ other therapies.) And she said, "She's conflicted because of the AMA rule---that's what you're picking up. Medical doctors can't discuss alternative therapies unless the patient brings them up first."
So, there you go. If you're going to include other therapies in your health care, make sure you bring them up with your doctor. Once you do that, the MDs are free to discuss it with you. Most complimentary therapists will also happily talk to your doctor if you want. It may require a separate release form from each of them because of HIPPA (in the US there's a reg, HIPPA for short, that governs what medical information can be shared with and without the patient's consent), but all the therapists I know will gladly work as closely with your physician as they can.
Until next time be well & be happy my friends. :)
