J Altern Complement Med. 1999 Oct; 5(5): 457-62.

Guidelines for selecting a medical herbalist for consultation and referral: consulting a medical herbalist.

Libster M.

Integrative Nursing Associates, Wheatridge, Colorado 80033, USA. martha.libster@uchsc.edu

Many Americans are self-medicating with herbal medicines. Health care practitioners often need to consult with, and/or refer to a medical herbalist in order to fully address the herb information needs of their clients. This article provides a guideline for the health practitioner to use when assessing the competency and expertise of an herb practitioner. Three models for assessing mastery in a health-related discipline are used as a foundation for the guideline.