What now for the regulation of complementary, unconventional and emerging treatments following the Medical Board of Australia’s decision not to revise its guidelines?
On 16 February 2021, the Medical Board of Australia announced that it will not be introducing new guidelines regarding medical practitioners’ use of complementary, unconventional and emerging treatments.1 Instead, it will continue to rely on its existing framework as outlined in the Good medical practice: a code of conduct for doctors in Australia (the Code).2 The reasons for doing so, according to its Chairperson, Dr Anne Tonkin, were that the current guidelines were sufficient for managing unconventional practice and that there were significant issues in adequately defining “complementary”, “alternative” and “emerging” practice.3
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- 1. Medical Board of Australia. Board responds to consultation on complementary medicine. Canberra: MBA, 2021. https://www.medicalboard.gov.au/News/2021‐02‐16‐Complementary‐medicines‐consultation.aspx (viewed Feb 2021).
- 2. Medical Board of Australia. Good medical practice: a code of conduct for doctors in Australia. Canberra: MBA, 2020. https://www.medicalboard.gov.au/codes‐guidelines‐policies/code‐of‐conduct.aspx (viewed Feb 2021).
- 3. Scholefield A. Medical Board chair explains why alternative crackdown was ditched. AusDoc 2021; 18 Feb. https://www.ausdoc.com.au/news/medical‐board‐chair‐explains‐why‐alternative‐medicine‐crackdown‐was‐ditched (viewed Feb 2021).
- 4. Kennedy E. Complementary medicine crackdown by Medical Board has doctors fearing natural therapies ban. ABC News 2019; 6 April. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019‐04‐06/medical‐board‐considering‐complementary‐medicines‐crackdown/10972770 (viewed Nov 2019).
- 5. Scholefield A. Medical Board of Australia backs down on new rules for doctors offering alternative medicine. AusDoc 2021; 17 Feb. https://www.ausdoc.com.au/news/medical‐board‐backs‐down‐new‐rules‐doctors‐offering‐alternative‐medicine (viewed Feb 2021).
- 6. Medical Board of Australia. Public consultation on clearer regulation of medical practitioners who provide complementary and unconventional and emerging treatments. Canberra: MBA, 2019. https://www.medicalboard.gov.au/News/Past‐Consultations/Consultations‐February‐2019.aspx (viewed Nov 2019).
- 7. Pean CA, Kingery MT, Strauss E, et al. Direct‐to‐consumer advertising of stem cells: ethical consideration and recommendations for the health‐care community. J Bone Joint Surg Am 2019; 101: e103.
- 8. Medical Board of Australia. Consultation submission report. Public consultation on clearer regulation of medical practitioners who provide complementary and unconventional and emerging treatments. Canberra: MBA, 2020. https://www.medicalboard.gov.au/News/Past‐Consultations/Consultations‐February‐2019.aspx (viewed Feb 2019).
- 9. NICM Health Research Institute. Medical Board of Australia consultation on complementary and unconventional medcine and emerging treatment. June 2019. https://www.medicalboard.gov.au/News/Past‐Consultations/Consultations‐February‐2019.aspx (viewed Feb 2021).
- 10. Levesque J, Dawda P. Jammal W; NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation. Re: Consultation on complementary and unconventional medicine and emerging treatments. https://www.medicalboard.gov.au/News/Past‐Consultations/Consultations‐February‐2019.aspx (viewed Feb 2021).
- 11. Slevin T, Wardle J. Public Health Association of Australia submission on regulation of medical practitioners who provide complementary and unconventional and emerging treatments. https://www.medicalboard.gov.au/News/Past‐Consultations/Consultations‐February‐2019.aspx (viewed Feb 2021).
- 12. Skerrit J; Therapeutic Goods Administration. Consultation on complementary and unconventional medicine and emerging treatments. https://www.medicalboard.gov.au/News/Past‐Consultations/Consultations‐February‐2019.aspx (viewed Feb 2021).
- 13. Blackmore M; Blackmores Group. Re: Public consultation on clearer regulation of medical practitioners who provide complementary and unconventional medicine and emerging treatments. https://www.medicalboard.gov.au/News/Past‐Consultations/Consultations‐February‐2019.aspx (viewed Feb 2021).
- 14. Bio Balance Health. Re: Public consultation on regulation of medical practitioners who provide complementary and unconventional and emerging treatments. https://www.medicalboard.gov.au/News/Past‐Consultations/Consultations‐February‐2019.aspx (viewed Feb 2021).
- 15. Stewart C, Waldby C, Lipworth W, et al. Re: Public consultation on clearer regulation of medical practitioners who provide complementary and unconventional medicine and emerging treatments. https://www.medicalboard.gov.au/News/Past‐Consultations/Consultations‐February‐2019.aspx (viewed Feb 2021).
- 16. Therapeutic Goods Administration. TGA strengthens regulation of stem cell treatments. Canberra: TGA, 2019. https://www.tga.gov.au/tga‐strengthens‐regulation‐stem‐cell‐treatments (viewed Apr 2021).
- 17. Therapeutic Goods Administration. TGA assessed claim for assessed listed and registered complementary medicines. Canberra: TGA, 2019. https://www.tga.gov.au/tga‐assessed‐claim‐assessed‐listed‐and‐registered‐complementary‐medicines (viewed Apr 2021).
- 18. Health Care Complaints Commission v Grygiel (2021) NSWCATOD 28
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