The important thing to realize is that the symptoms of GERD are due to high -pH gastric acid (too low acid) and not the high-acid BS fed to patients by the pharmaceutics giants.
How doctors can peddle this crap with a straight face is beyond me (COI is the only logical explanation). The effect of further lowering gastric acid is sure to include digestive problems, malnutrition from malabsorption and disease (your stomach acid is your first line of defense against ingested pathogens).
Most doctors don't have a choice or flexibility but to follow "the protocol" if they want to remain insured (and in practice) so diag almost always have to be followed by the "standard" prescriptions.
Some good doctors may explain the potential side effects and/or also recommend trying some alternative or parallel treatments or procedures, especially to their long-time patients, but it may come with some assumption of risk. It could help them if the patient is somewhat knowledgeable and would ask questions, then they could veer off the protocol slightly and say "you could try this or that"...