The Texas Medical Board has finalized updates to its complementary and alternative medicine standards, aiming to improve clarity for patients and simplify compliance for physicians while maintaining patient safety.
However, Dr. Mary Talley Bowden has raised concerns about how the changes may be interpreted.
The updates include the elimination of safe harbor language, definition changes, and a new standard form that must be filled out and added to a patient’s medical record.
According to the updated standards, before providing a treatment that falls under the new definitions of “complementary” or “alternative” medicine (CAM) as set by the Texas Administrative Code, doctors and patients are required to review a disclosure and consent form issued by the board.
TMB President Dr. Sherif Zaafran explained that the required disclosure form is meant to improve transparency and compliance, making it easier for both physicians and patients to use CAM responsibly.
“The goal is to simplify compliance for physicians and improve clarity for patients,” wrote Dr. Zaafran.
Notably, the new definition for “complementary and alternative medicine” refers to any treatment “not generally considered routine by most licensed physicians” and that may or may not fall under FDA regulation.
“This formally enacts the guidance the TMB previously issued regarding the use of off-label drugs to treat COVID-19,” posted Dr. Bowden on X.
Dr. Bowden noted that the new rule also removes safe harbor provisions that were in the previous version, potentially undermining physicians’ autonomy and a patient’s right to seek nontraditional care.
“Physicians should be allowed a reasonable and responsible degree of latitude in the kinds of therapies they offer their patients,” according to the previous definition, which added that “patients have a right to seek complementary and alternative therapies.”
Zaafran wrote that the revisions that eliminated the safe harbor provision were an attempt to remove redundant language already spoken to in the statute and do not limit a physician’s ability to offer CAM or an individual’s right to pursue it.
“The very existence of the TMB rules on CAM confirms its legitimacy and availability,” added Zaafran. “We understand that the changes caused some confusion, but rest assured — patients continue to have access to CAM, and physicians remain fully authorized to provide it.”
