Doctors who offer alternative therapies would be warned against initiating treatment without a “reasonable expectation” of clinical benefit, under new guidelines proposed by the Medical Board of Australia.

The board has begun consulting on plans to introduce specific regulations for doctors working outside mainstream medicine, arguing new rules are needed to protect patients against financial exploitation and unnecessary treatment.

It is also targeting doctors who recommend and sell complementary medicines through their practices, with new guidelines cautioning against financial conflicts of interest.

At present, doctors who perform alternative and emerging therapies are expected to follow the same guidelines as other practitioners, which require treatment to be initiated according to the “best available” information.