What is a Registered Medical Herbalist?

A registered medical herbalist is a person trained to practice herbal medicine. They are registered with a professional body which only accepts members who have been educated through a recognised herbal college.

The curriculum must include the study of herbal medicine in depth, along with the medical sciences such as anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, pathology, and clinical diagnosis. Such that the herbal practitioner is fit to be a primary health care practitioner.

In July 2007, the Ministry of Health approved Western Medical Herbalists for regulation under the Health Practitioners Competency Assurance (HPCA) Act. This is a significant step forward for the future of our the health system – towards Complementary Health Care.
2019, the NZAMH are still establishing further approval with the current government for the HPCA Act.

Optimising patient outcomes

Such professional bodies include:

NZAMH – NZ Association of Medical Herbalists
NMHNZ – Naturopaths, Medical Herbalists of New Zealand