EXPANDING LEGAL PARADIGMS TO INCORPORATE SUBTLE ENERGIES

Abstract

This article will summarize some of the legal, ethical, and bioethical issues raised by alternative/complementary therapies and energy medicine. This exploration should interest at least three overlapping audiences: (1) providers of alternative and complementary therapies, who seek guidance in order to minimize legal risks in their practice, (2) lawyers, lobbyists, legislators, judges, and patients, who probe the limits of lawful access to alternative treatments, and (3) insurance companies, HMO's, hospitals, hospices, and other institutional actors pursuing legal inclusion of alternative and complementary therapies in third-party reimbutsement schemes and health plans.

Providers often think of legal issues in a defensive posture-for example, in terms of avoiding malpractice, conviction, or sanction. Legal barriers, however, also can suggest ways to shift the larger social debate about health care and reform. Legal professionals often underestimate the potential role of nonmedical and alternative providers in an integrated health care system. Insurance and health care institutions need greater understanding of prevailing legal rules to determine how to incorporate alternative/complementary therapies that minimizes risks and honors legal boundaries.