Herbal Medicine I write prescriptions down and give you a copy, and I think that should be the standard rather than a courtesy. What it contains: the herbs and their proportions, the daily dose, how long to take it for, the review date, and any cautions relevant to the other things you take.
The reason it matters is practical. Your GP may need to know. Your pharmacist may spot an interaction I have not. If you end up in hospital, the admitting team should be able to read what you are on. And if you decide to see someone else, you are not starting from nothing.
Before I prescribe, I want your full medication and supplement list — including the things people do not count, like fish oil, magnesium and anything bought online. I check for the interactions that matter: anticoagulants, antidepressants, thyroid and diabetes medication, immunosuppressants, and anything oncological. If you are pregnant, trying to conceive, breastfeeding or in a fertility cycle, I need your maternity carer or specialist to be aware, and for IVF stimulation I want their explicit clearance.
What I will not do: dispense without a consultation, reorder indefinitely without a review, or prescribe for someone who cannot tell me what else they are taking. And where the evidence for a herbal approach to a particular problem is thin, I will say that rather than sell it.
I am registered with AHPRA under the Chinese Medicine Board for both acupuncture and herbal dispensing. The clinic is in Lane Cove, opposite the library.
