The goal of this program is to educate clinicians about the safety and regulation of products labeled as “supplements” in the context of patient care. This program serves as a primer for a later, more specific offering which discusses specific herbs and supplements and how to counsel patients on their appropriate use.

After completing this activity, the participant should be able to:

• explain the differences in regulation of medications labeled as supplement, over-the-counter, and prescription.
• discuss how these differences affect the safety of herbal medications.
• list toxicities of the more commonly used herbs.
• describe how to determine if an herb is responsible for a patient’s symptoms.
• list references to find more information on herbal safety.