RH AHG Professional Ethics 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A prospective client asks an AHG Registered Herbalist to guarantee results before beginning a herbal protocol. The RH should:
- Offer a partial guarantee to secure the client's commitment
- Decline to guarantee outcomes while explaining realistic expectations (Correct answer)
- Guarantee results only for common, well-studied conditions
- Refer the client elsewhere since guarantees cannot be given
Correct answer: Decline to guarantee outcomes while explaining realistic expectations
AHG ethics prohibit guaranteeing outcomes; herbalists must set honest, realistic expectations about what herbal care can achieve.
Question 2: Under AHG standards, what is the appropriate way to handle a client's private health information shared during consultation?
- Share relevant details with the client's family if they request it
- Keep all information confidential except where legally required to disclose (Correct answer)
- Use anonymized case details freely in public educational content
- Retain records only for one year to limit privacy risk
Correct answer: Keep all information confidential except where legally required to disclose
Confidentiality is a foundational AHG ethical obligation; disclosure is only appropriate when legally mandated or with explicit client consent.
Question 3: An RH is asked by a journalist to comment on a specific client's remarkable recovery using herbal therapy. The herbalist should:
- Share the story if the outcome was genuinely positive
- Decline or obtain explicit written consent from the client first (Correct answer)
- Describe the case anonymously without client permission
- Refer the journalist to the AHG communications office
Correct answer: Decline or obtain explicit written consent from the client first
Sharing client information with media without explicit written consent violates confidentiality regardless of how positive the story is.
Question 4: Which of the following best reflects the AHG principle of 'do no harm' in herbal practice?
- Recommending only herbs with zero documented side effects
- Assessing each client individually for potential risks, interactions, and contraindications (Correct answer)
- Avoiding all herbal recommendations during pregnancy
- Using only herbs listed in the US Pharmacopeia
Correct answer: Assessing each client individually for potential risks, interactions, and contraindications
The non-maleficence principle requires individualized risk assessment rather than blanket avoidance of any specific herb class.
Question 5: An RH wants to use a client's case in a published article. Beyond anonymizing details, what additional step is ethically required?
- Obtain approval from the AHG ethics committee
- Obtain written informed consent from the client (Correct answer)
- Ensure no demographic details are included
- Submit the article for peer review before publishing
Correct answer: Obtain written informed consent from the client
Written informed consent is ethically required when publishing client cases, even when anonymization is applied.
Question 6: A client reveals during intake that they are using a prescription anticoagulant. Ethically, the RH must:
- Avoid mentioning herbs entirely to stay within scope
- Assess for herb-drug interactions and communicate risks clearly, recommending physician involvement (Correct answer)
- Proceed with the protocol and document the medication as noted
- Decline to see the client until they stop the medication
Correct answer: Assess for herb-drug interactions and communicate risks clearly, recommending physician involvement
Identifying potential herb-drug interactions and communicating them clearly, with appropriate physician referral, is an ethical safety obligation.
Question 7: What does the AHG Code of Ethics require regarding advertising herbal services?
- Ads must be pre-approved by AHG before publication
- Advertising must be truthful, not misleading, and within the herbalist's scope of practice (Correct answer)
- RHs may make health claims if supported by traditional use
- Testimonials are prohibited in all forms of advertising
Correct answer: Advertising must be truthful, not misleading, and within the herbalist's scope of practice
AHG ethics require that all advertising be honest, accurate, and limited to claims within the practitioner's scope of practice.
RH AHG Professional Ethics 3
A prospective client asks an AHG Registered Herbalist to guarantee results before beginning a herbal protocol.
The RH should: