Alternative Care Licensing

Regulations for being able to practice medicine ethically and legally were established in the United States more than a century ago. The Supreme Court first ruled on these regulations in Dent v. West Virginia, wherein the state refused a license to an alleged “botanical remedies” doctor.

That case has since been the foundation for a state’s ability to regulate the medical profession and prosecute a variety of alternative and complementary medicine practitioners.

Medical licensing grants physicians leeway to diagnose and treat disease. But licensing for so-called allied health professionals, who are granted “limited” licensure, has a narrower definition. Anyone who exceeds that scope is engaging in the unlawful practice of medicine.

The prosecution of several alternative medical practitioners led to a movement to create professional licensing standards for complementary therapies. Today, chiropractors are licensed in every state of the United States, while acupuncturists and massage therapists are licensed in 40 states. Naturopathic physicians are currently licensed in 15 states.

These licenses grant complementary and alternative medical practitioners a designated range of practices. For example, a chiropractor can manipulate the spine and do certain ancillary therapies but can't diagnose or treat disease. Likewise, massage therapists can’t practice psychology.

Some of it is a gray area. But it at least sets boundaries and parameters for the treatments these practitioners can administer.