Doctors ready to battle with homeopath physicians

Monday, July 3, 2000 | 10:15 a.m.

RENO -- The board that regulates 4,000 doctors in Nevada is going to war in the next Legislature against the less than 30 homeopath physicians.

On its face, it appears an uneven fight. But homeopaths have a hard core of patients who attest to the benefits of alternative -- and what some critics call unorthodox -- medicine.

"It's going to be a big political fight," said former Assembly Speaker Robert Barengo, now a lobbyist for the state Board of Medical Examiners. "Homeopaths have a big following," agreed Arne Rosencrantz, president of the board.

The board set the stage Friday, unanimously deciding to ask the 2001 Legislature to require all homeopaths to be licensed by the medical examiners board. Nevada has some of the toughest requirements in the nation for getting a license.

And while some of the estimated 25 homeopaths have Nevada licenses, others don't. The law permits those homeopaths to practice in Nevada if they have medical degrees from outside Nevada and pass certifying examinations.

This is the latest round in the fight between the two boards. A week before the Friday meeting of the medical board, the state Homeopathic Board passed regulations opening the door for homeopaths to practice nearly all types of alternative medicine. For instance, it would permit patients to receive drugs not approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

The medical examiners board served notice it would try to stop the regulation. Some doctors at the examiners board meeting Friday referred to homeopathic medicine as "voodoo" and said they were worried about the protection of patients.

Homeopathic Board Chairman Fuller Royal could not be reached for comment.

Rosencrantz said it appears to be an "appropriate time" to try to stop homeopaths as they try to expand their practice. He suggested the Legislature should require licensed Nevada physicians to treat Nevada patients.

Larry Lessly, executive director of the examiners board, said that board is the one that should regulate the practice of medicine. He called the homeopathic board "superfluous." He added there are "less than 30 of them and we license 4,000."

"We're suggesting that they (the homeopaths) be licensed by our board or the osteopathic board as a prerequisite to the practice of homeopathy," Lessly said. "There are less than a dozen who are not licensed by anybody in the state. They got a license in China or Africa or wherever to practice medicine.

"We don't think that's appropriate. If the true requirement to practice homeopathy is to be an MD, then you ought to be a Nevada qualified MD or Nevada qualified DO (osteopath) to practice," Lessly said.

Lessly and Barengo warned that the staff and the lobbyist cannot carry the fight alone in the Legislature. They will need the help of physicians statewide. Larry Matheis, executive director of the Nevada Medical Association, said his organization would back the medical examiners.

It is a major public policy issue, Matheis said. He referred to the "recent adventure" of the homeopathic board to allow its physicians to expand their treatments. The homeopathic regulation, which must be approved by the legislative commission, would permit patients to receive Gerovital, which is said to restore youth, and Laetrile, which some people say cures cancer.

The law says a physician is not subject to disciplinary action for prescribing or administering those drugs. The medical examiners board agreed that section should be removed from the law, allowing doctors to be punished if physicians do not follow accepted standards in administering them.

Cy Ryan

covers state government for the Sun. He can be reached at (775) 687-5032.