Today, Health Minister Fred Horne announced the Alberta Association of Naturopathic Practitioners is now the College of Naturopathic Doctors of Alberta.
“The change in title signals a change in status for qualified naturopathic doctors in Alberta,” says Horne.
“The College now has the same powers of self-governance that many of our other professions enjoy. They have long-sought these powers,” he adds.
A new regulation under the Health Professions Act establishes the College of Naturopathic Doctors of Alberta and gives that body the authority to establish requirements for entry into the profession and ongoing professional development. The regulation will also allow the College to set standards for professional practice, investigate complaints, and govern use of protected titles, including Naturopath and Naturopathic Doctor.
Horne says the regulation means Albertans can have access to a variety of primary care options, and can be assured they are receiving safe, effective services from qualified professionals.
“Our government recognizes that Albertans want choice when it comes to their health, especially in the areas of wellness and illness prevention,” says Horne.
“More and more people are relying on the services of naturopathic doctors, and they can now be assured that the practitioner they visit has the competency and skills required to practice in Alberta.”
Those working in the field call this a momentous day for naturopathic medicine.
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“Today, Albertans can have confidence when they reach out to a member of the College of Naturopathic Doctors of Alberta, that they have a naturopathic doctor who meets stringent competency and practice requirements,” says Dr. Allissa Gaul, founding president of the College of Naturopathic Doctors of Alberta.
“We offer Albertans a distinct system of primary health care that is an art, a science, a philosophy and a practice of diagnosis and assessment, treatment and prevention of illness, and we applaud this government for making health and wellness a priority to benefit Albertans,” explains Gaul.
“We are trained in the primary care use of diet and lifestyle intervention, homeopathy, nutritional supplementation, physical medicine, and traditional Chinese medicine,” she adds.
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Naturopathic doctors practicing in Alberta are hopeful this new designation will improve the overall perception of their field.
“Hopefully, this legislation will make naturopathic doctors have a higher profile, and give the profession in Alberta a boost,” says Dr. Steve Marsden, an Edmonton naturopathic doctor.
“It’s a very positive step in terms of guaranteeing to the public that whoever they’re talking to has a certain minimum level of knowledge,” he adds.
“Previously, anybody could hang out a shingle and say they’re a naturopath, and they might not really be one.”
Currently, there are 144 practicing naturopathic doctors in Alberta. Minimum education requirements are three years of pre-medical education plus completion of a four-year professional program at an approved, accredited naturopathic college or university.
That educational requirement will help assure the public, says Marsden. “They’ll have had to graduate from an accredited school, they’ll have had to pass licensing board exams, they’ll have to update their skills every year.”
Naturopathic doctors focus on health promotion, illness prevention, and treating disease using natural therapies that promote the body’s ability to heal.
“We believe in educating our patients, we believe in treating the whole person, and our goal is to work with our patients to achieve optimum health and to prevent diseases,” says Dr. Gaul.
In addition to authorizing self-governance, the regulation also describes the restricted activities naturopathic doctors registered with the College are permitted to perform, including injections, minor surgeries (such as removing warts and moles, obtaining skin samples for biopsies and doing sutures), ear examinations, and – with additional training approved by the College – alternative medical treatments such as acupuncture, chiropractic treatments, and intravenous administration of ozone, chelation therapy or supplemental vitamins and minerals. Naturopathic doctors are not permitted to prescribe drugs, order x-rays or ultrasounds or administer intravenous nutrition.
“One of the things we do is take is holistic approach, which really means seeing the connections between various things that are going on in a patient and understanding how they all tie together,” explains Marsden.
He says medical doctors can do that as well, but often don’t have the time to devote to this kind of diagnosis and treatment.
“You need more than a 6 minute or a ten minute appointment to educate somebody on where their health problems are coming from or what they can do about it, so that role continually falls on a naturopath.”
He says, regulating naturopathic medicine will benefit the health system – and the public – as a whole.
“Every time a naturopath is successful, who knows how many visits to an emergency room or a medical doctor’s office that eliminates because we’re trying to take care of ten things at once.”
“I think it’s good preventative medicine for society as well as individuals to use naturopathic doctors.”
Naturopathic services are not covered by the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan, but may be covered by Albertans’ supplemental insurance plans. In addition, professional regulation facilitates registration of naturopathic doctors, allowing Albertans to claim naturopathy costs as a medical expense on their personal income tax returns.
“Right now, for a naturopathic doctor in Edmonton to be successful, they have to be quite effective for people to reach into their pockets and pay out 500 or 1000 dollars a year when otherwise, there’s all this free healthcare available to them,” says Marsden.
Those in the field hope that competition – combined with the new regulation and title – will assure the public that high-quality naturopathic health care service is available in Alberta for the long-term.
“It is a very significant milestone for this profession, and recognition of the knowledge and skills that members of the Association bring to their work,” says Horne, “and I dare say, the trust that many Albertans place in their naturopathic doctors.”
You can view the complete Health Professions Act below:
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