Joey M.D.

Sometimes patients ask me about some things that I find difficult to reply.  Like Alternative Health Care Medicine. Being a doctor formally trained at a “conventional” medical school, I do not really “get” some of their principles.  But being an open-minded person, I also do not want to discount the fact that some people do get well with such therapies which are often considered unconventional.

Being Chinese and raised in a semi-traditional family means I was exposed to Chinese therapies and herbal medications while I was growing up, and they do work in some cases.  You don’t just discount centuries of practice.  Even conventional medicine had its share of hits and misses during its development.

Anyway, what I really say to them is that I am not the expert on alternative medicine.  They should ask Alternative Medicine Doctors who have been properly trained in their respective fields of expertise.  I do not know if there is now a licensing body for alternative medicine like that in conventional medicine, but I think that it would help patients discern who the legitimate practitioners are.  Remember, there are also quacks and fake “doctors” and “healers” who would take advantage of desperate people looking for treatments other than the conventional way of treatment.  That’s what we all want to steer clear from.

I mean, you don’t go to just any person to have a prescription filled, right?  You go to a board certified physician.  You don’t have your inflamed appendix removed by anybody but a trained surgeon.  You should have the same attitude when looking for somebody to do an acupuncture or reflexology on you, or else you may not be doing good, and may even be exacerbating your problem.  Another thing, contrary to some popular belief, not all natural remedies are without side effects, so only a well-trained herbalist with adequate knowledge on the various uses and side effects of herbs should be able to give you the right treatment.