Tough new guidelines to regulate Bahrain's alternative medicine industry will come into effect within weeks.
It means only licensed physicians in homeopathy, ayurveda and Chinese medicine, among others, would be allowed to practice in the country, said National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA) chief executive officer Dr Baha Eldin Fateha.
"So far, there have been no rules governing such practice but now they will have to follow a set norm before they can be registered to operate," he told the GDN.
"The idea is not to target the existing places but to regulate the practice in such a way that it benefits patients and those providing the services.
"The guidelines have now been finalised and await the approval of the NHRA board.
"This will happen in the next few weeks after which they will be implemented."
Dr Fateha pledged strict action would be taken if rouge clinics operate in the field without following guidelines, which could endanger the lives of patients.
He said the regulations were also drawn up to ensure people were not duped into getting medical services by unqualified practitioners.
However, he said the new rules to expose illegal practitioners and ensure patient safety should have been put in place earlier, as Bahrain is far behind other countries in the region.
It follows reports of cases in which herbs were used as diabetes medicine and for cancer patients, and (pencil) lead touted as a cure for other illnesses, said Dr Fateha.
Source: http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/
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