Herbal Medicine

The practical shape of it, since that is what people want to know. A consultation first, because nothing is dispensed without one — that is a clinical requirement, not a sales step. Then a formula made up for two to four weeks, usually as granules taken twice a day in warm water. Then a review, at which the formula is adjusted. Then a decision point after a few weeks about whether it is doing enough to be worth continuing.

Costs are discussed before anything is made up, not after. Reorders need a review rather than a phone call, which is both a regulatory requirement and the reason the prescription stays matched to what is actually going on.

What to report rather than push through: digestive upset, loose stools, a rash, headache, or anything new that starts within a few days of beginning a formula. Usually it means an adjustment. Occasionally it means stopping. Either way we would rather hear about it in week one than in week six.

Tell every other clinician what you are taking and take the label with you — your GP, your pharmacist, your specialist, and the hospital if you are having surgery, because some herbs are stopped before an operation. Chinese herbal dispensing is registered with AHPRA under the Chinese Medicine Board. We are in Freshwater, ten streets from Balgowlah and about twenty from Manly, and granules can be posted once you have been seen.