Homeopathy regulations approved by Nevada medical board

The Nevada Board of Medical Examiners has approved new rules for licensed doctors who use unconventional methods of treatment such as acupuncture or homeopathy.

The regulations, initially caught up in controversy, were toned down and adopted without opposition at a weekend board meeting in Reno.

Dr. Gary Holt, a licensed medical doctor and homeopath, called the rules a ''good first step'' by the board, which has too long ignored alternative means of treating patients.

''I've fixed a lot of patients whom conventional medicine could not fix,'' he told the board. ''I'm a doctor, and I want to be regulated by this board.''

Donald Baepler, a board member mainly responsible for the final draft of the rules, said an earlier version caused confusion and led to ''inferences we were trying to invade the turf of other licensing groups. We are not.''

The Medical Examiners Board had clashed with the state Board of Homeopathic Medical Examiners, which regulates practitioners of alternative treatments. The homeopathy board complained the medical board was trying to stop new methods.

Baepler also said he got letters from chiropractors who mistakenly thought the medical board was trying to regulate that profession.

The new rules require physicians using unconventional methods to keep detailed records, get informed consents from patients, and say whether conventional treatments were tried.

''I hope the documentation being required will be no different than a family physician,'' Holt said. ''I hope this medical licensing board will wake up and take notice of the changes in medicine.''