Hi Liza,

Liza May wrote:

> Alan,
>
> > MD's can take a course lasting little more than
> > a month on homeopathic medicine and then call themselves doctors of
> > medicine and homeopathy (and the sickness insurance will pay for any
> > treatment) but a homeopath alone (without an official doctor of
> > medicine title) can practice, on the one hand, but the medical
> > insurance will not pay a cent (and he or she is not allowed to
> > call themselves a physician).
>
> I'm confused. Why should a homeopathic practittioner be allowed to call
> themselves a physician, in your opinion? As far as I can see, they are not,
> so they shouldn't call themselves by this title. Am I missing somehting
> here?
>
If you read my paragraph again you will see that homeopaths who are
not simultaneously MDs are NOT allowed to call themselves physicians
(at least not in Germany).

> > Natural hygienists can open up a
> > practice but are not allowed to "treat" anyone with an illness
> > (in other words they can only recommend how to live healthily),
> > much less call themselves physicians..
>
> ARE they, in fact, physicians? (meaning, have they gone through medical
> school?). I guess my understanding is that the term "physician" simply
> indicates whether or not they have gone through medical school. So, there
> are physicians who are also natural hygienists. However, a natural
> hygienist, unless they have been thru med school, should not, in my opinion
> anyway, set up a practice as a physician. Am I still missing something?
>
No...you are quite correct on this score. IOW, there certainly are
many MDs who are also sympathetic to (or active in) the natural hygiene
movement and they are naturally allowed to call themselves physicians.
Dr K. J. Probst here in Germany is an example.

Best regards,

Alan