In re Guess
Supreme Court of North Carolina
393 S.E.2d 833 (1990)
Dr. George Guess (defendant), the only physician in the state practicing homeopathy, was charged with unprofessional conduct after several physicians testified homeopathy was not an acceptable medical practice in the state, though there was no evidence any patient was ever harmed and homeopathy was recognized in other states and countries. The medical board (plaintiff) revoked Guess's license for departing from acceptable practice; the superior court reversed as arbitrary and unsupported, and the court of appeals affirmed that reversal, holding revocation required a showing of patient danger — prompting the board's appeal.
Whether a medical board may revoke a physician's license for failure to conform to acceptable medical practice, even absent evidence of actual patient harm.