Saturday, November 22, 2008

Naturopathic Prescribing Rights

Estimates show that 20-30% of the Canadian population does not have a family MD. Accordingly, Naturopathic Doctors have an opportunity to provide primary health care to many people who do not have a family doctor. With talk of a new version of Bill C-51 being reintroduced to parliament, this position of primary care provider may become even more integral to naturopaths over the next several years.

Consequently, CCNM, the Ontario Association of ND's (OAND) the Canadian Association of ND's (CAND) and the Board of Directors of Drugless Therapies-Naturopaths (BDDT-N) recently collaborated to submit a proposal to the Health Professions Regulatory Advisory Council (HPRAC) requesting ND's privilege to prescribe drugs. If successful, this will ensure botanicals and other restricted substances will always be attainable and may include some emergency prescription pharmaceuticals as well. Consequently, with careful planning, this is yet another reason for growth of the profession.

You can read the submission online at www.ccnm.edu or HPRAC.

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