California Health Freedom & SB 577 Notice

California Senate Bill SB 577, signed into law in September 2002, expanded access to alternative and complementary health care across the state. SB 577 enables complementary practitioners to offer and advertise services legally, while ensuring clients receive clear information about who they are working with.

What Senate Bill SB 577 Means for You

SB 577 protects your access to complementary wellness support. It gives you the freedom to choose non-medical health services while ensuring transparency.

When working together, you have the right to know my qualifications and understand the approach we take.

You are always encouraged to:

1. Review my certifications, education, and background.
2. Ask questions about any dietary, lifestyle, or educational protocols we discuss.
3. Keep your licensed primary care physician informed about the plant-based nutrition and lifestyle strategies you are implementing.
4. Request that your licensed medical providers and I communicate or collaborate if you want us to work together for your care.

Consumer Protections & Practice Boundaries

To protect your safety, SB 577 establishes strict boundaries for unlicensed health practitioners.

Under California law, I do not and cannot:

1. Perform surgery or any procedure that punctures your skin or invades the body.
2. Administer or prescribe X-rays.
3. Prescribe or administer prescription drugs or controlled substances.
4. Recommend that you discontinue any prescription medications recommended by your licensed physician.
5. Set fractures or treat wounds with electrotherapy.
6. Willfully diagnoses and treats a physical or mental condition of any person under circumstances or conditions that cause or create risk of great bodily harm, serious physical or mental illness, or death.
7. Hold myself out, advertise, or imply in any way that I am a licensed physician or surgeon.

How We Stay Compliant Together

To remain compliant with California law as an unlicensed complementary health practitioner, I will:

1. Provide you with a plain-language written disclosure outlining that I am not a licensed physician, that my services are unlicensed and complementary to licensed medical care, the nature of my services, my theory of practice, and my full educational background and qualifications.
2. Provide you with an acknowledgment form to sign before we begin working together, confirming you received these disclosures, and ensure you receive a copy for your records.
3. Retain a copy of your signed acknowledgment in my secure records for at least three years.

Paperwork is rarely the fun part of starting a health journey, but these disclosures exist to protect your rights, ensure transparency, and give you full confidence in the support you receive here.

Read the full text of California Senate Bill SB 577 here