mentary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) was In this article, the meaning of alternative medicine,its characteristics are stressed. …
PRESS RELEASE
4/1/98 PIONEERING BOOK CHALLENGES MEDICAL COMMUNITY TO INTEGRATE ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES
In a groundbreaking new book published by Johns Hopkins University Press, Michael H Cohen says laws governing health care need surgery in order to meet the demands of twentyfirst century, integrative medicine We have freedom of speech and freedom of religion, but do we have medical freedom-the freedom to care for our bodies? asks Michael H Cohen Esq, a health-law expert Cohen describes how: Proposed changes in licensing, malpractice, food and drug, insurance, and other laws will usher in millenial medicine, integrating conventional care with acupuncture, homoepathy, herbal and nutritional support, manipulation, prayer, and other complementary and alternative therapies New federal and state laws will change patient access to holistic health care Mind-body therapies will change legal views of physician-assisted suicide, fertility technology, organ transplantation, genetic
engineering, and other divisive bioethical issues The books audience includes: patients living with the frustration of having an illness that conventional medicine cannot cure; physicians, hospitals, and insurers seeking legally safe ways to integrate alternative therapies; chiropractors, acupuncturists, and other providers challenging the legal rules of professional healing Cohen exposes the gap between what consumers want, and what the law lets them have He lays out the split between, and coming integration of, orthodox medicine and holistic competitors, and he addresses the legal and political issues from a balanced perspective We are moving to a medical culture that acknowledges our emotional and intuitive sides, he says The law, while still protecting patients from worthless or dangerous treatments, must evolve to support a comprehensive, holistic and balanced approach to health
Contact: Karen Willmes, Johns Hopkins University Press 410-516-6932; Professor Michael H Cohen
lawmed2000@aolcom Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Legal Boundaries and Regulatory Perspectives can be ordered by calling 1-800-537-5487
Author Michael H Cohen
COMPLEMENTARY ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
Legal Boundaries Regulatory Perspectives
Michael H Cohen
Explores the legal issues that health care providers, institutions, and regulators confront as they contemplate integrating complementary and alternative medicine into mainstream US health care
A must read for alternative / complementary advocates, consumers, and practitioners who want a better regulatory framework and better health care Rep Peter DeFazio, Oregon This outstanding recommended resource nearly one-third of the text is devoted to case law and references belongs on the library shelf of anyone thinking about or involved in health care Rene J Gordon, University of Arizona A provocative, pioneering, and timely contribution to the future of health care and medical regulation Professor Cohen provides an original
and authoritative synthesis of current regulatory and medical thinking regarding complementary and alternative medicine, together with a comprehensive framework for the evolution of regulatory authority governing alternative treatments and providers Future discussions by clinical and research professionals in health care law and policy will find this authoritative text to be indispensable Kenneth R Pelletier, PhD, Stanford University School of Medicine
A third of all Americans use complementary and alternative medicine including chiropractic, acupuncture, homeopathy, naturopathy, nutritional and herbal treatments and massage therapy even when their insurance does not cover it and they have to pay for such treatments themselves Nearly a third of US medical schools offer courses on complementary and alternative therapies Congress has created an Office of Alternative Medicine within the National Institutes of Health, and federal and state lawmakers have introduced legislation
authorizing widespread use of such therapies These institutional and legislative developments, argues Michael H Cohen, express a paradigm shift to a broader, more inclusive vision of health care than conventional medicine admits Cohen explores the legal issues that health care providers both conventional and alternative, institutions, and regulators confront as they contemplate integrating complementary and alternative medicine into mainstream US health care Challenging traditional ways of thinking about health, disease, and the role of law in regulating health, Cohen begins by defining complementary and alternative medicine and then places the regulation of orthodox and alternative health care in historical context He next examines the legal ramifications of complementary and alternative medicine, including state medical licensing laws, legislative limitations on authorized practice, malpractice liability, food and drug laws, professional disciplinary issues, and third-party
reimbursement The final chapter provides a framework for thinking about the possible evolution of the regulatory structure This book is the first to set forth the emerging moral and legal authority on which the safe and effective practice of alternative health care can rest It further suggests how regulatory structures might develop to support a comprehensive, holistic, and balanced approach to health, one that permits integration of orthodox medicine with complementary and alternative medicine, while continuing to protect patients from fraudulent and dangerous treatments Available February 1998 Johns Hopkins University Press 6 x 9 , 190 pp 0-8018-5687-6 Hardcover 4500 0-818-5689-2 Paperback 1695 Web: To order by phone from the US Canada call 1-800-537-5487 Mon Fri, 8:30 - 5:00 EST http://wwwmichaelhcohencom
Author Michael H Cohen
Source:portlandalternativemedicine.com
