Q: Does a doctor have to show you their degree if you ask them to?
I believe my friends family is being taken advantage of. His father takes them all to some doctor, and the doctor seems to be very quick to jump to conclusions and prescribes many supplements. My friend's entire immediate family, except for the father, and I both believe it's extreme, what the doctor says and how he prescribes things. According to my colleague, he claims that the doctor has made his father spend thousands on supplements. I would like to know if a doctor legally has to show you his degree if you ask them, because my colleague and I have our doubts about this "doctors" practices.
A:
You can verify licensure with the State of California:
http://www.mbc.ca.gov/Breeze/License_Verification.aspx
http://www.ombc.ca.gov/consumers/license_ver.shtml
http://www2.dca.ca.gov/pls/wllpub/wllqryna$lcev2.startup?p_qte_code=DC&p_qte_pgm_code=8500
To answer your question, no, the doctor doesn't have to show you his degree. Further, a degree only means that the doctor graduated from medical school. It doesn't mean that s/he has a license from the state to practice medicine. Practicing medicine without a license is a crime and is pretty rare, although you hear a lot about unlicensed women performing butt injections or similar procedures.
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