RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Virginia representatives will grant official licenses to naturopathic “doctors,” practitioners who focus more on lifestyle changes and natural nutritional supplements than mainstream medical practice. The initiative was revived again.
HB 1489, sponsored by Representative Glenn Davis (R-Virginia Beach), would establish a licensing system for people who claim to practice naturopathy. The bill established requirements for licensure, including earning a doctor of naturopathic degree from the Naturopathic Medical Education Program and passing an exam administered by the North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners.
In return, the licensee would have the right to practice as a primary care provider, order laboratory tests, attend births, and treat basic injuries. Currently, many of these activities are limited to qualified professionals such as nurses and doctors.
But is it medicine?
Clark Barrineau, vice president of government affairs for the Medical Society of Virginia, told 8News that the association opposes expanded licensing of natural treatments, in part because they lack scientific support.
“From our perspective, this would give naturopathic doctors federal endorsement,” he says. “There is ample evidence that their classes, their training, all of it is not backed by science or good medical science.”
MSV is a professional organization representing physicians, medical students, and physician assistants.
He added that naturopathic doctors who want to recommend vitamins, address lifestyle health and perform other non-medical services can already do so. But licensure can muddy the waters, leading patients to confuse naturopathic doctors with mainstream medical practitioners, he said.
“They use the term ‘primary care,'” he says. “That would obscure the essence of medicine itself.”
8News attempted to contact Representative Davis for comment for this article, but did not receive a response. Attempts to contact the Virginia Association of Naturopathic Physicians were also unsuccessful. The association does not list any public contact information, and its linked social media presence appears to be focused on promoting website templates.
carve a niche
Barrineau said there is still room for natural therapies in the broader medical field.
“We’re happy to continue talking to them and working with naturopathic doctors,” he said, adding that he himself used naturopathic treatments when his children got sick recently.
“We’re not saying it’s bad or dangerous per se, but this is a federal endorsement that we’ve studied nine ways since Sunday and found to be inadequate. That’s a fact,” Barrineau said.
At the national level, the practice of naturopathy is a patchwork of regulations in various states. The American Association of Naturopathic Physicians advocates for regulation in this field, citing recent regulatory efforts in states such as Wisconsin and Pennsylvania as success stories.
Among them is advocating for naturopathic doctors to be allowed to prescribe controlled substances (as possible in nine states) and receive Medicaid reimbursement (as possible in six states). That is included.
But even these efforts have been criticized by skeptics such as former Tufts University medical professor Kimball Atwood IV, who wrote in his overview of the field that they are “pseudoscientific, ineffective, and unethical.” “It’s full of potentially dangerous behavior.”
The way forward
This is not the first time a naturopathic profession has sought formal certification from the Virginia Department of Health Professions. Similar bills failed in 2005 and 2021 after a department study found a license simply wasn’t required.
A 2005 study conducted by the DHP found that licensing was an unnecessary burden as the field is generally limited to non-invasive treatments with little chance of harm.
“When considering actual cases in which individuals were harmed by people claiming to be naturopathic practitioners, the Commission deemed that the problem was due to unscrupulous and incompetent practitioners. do not have members of naturopathic physician groups, and those seeking regulation,” the study concluded.
In two cases (one in which a diabetic child was told by a self-proclaimed naturopathic doctor to stop taking insulin, and the other in which a woman was disfigured by having her face smeared with acid), natural Regulations were deemed unnecessary because therapists could be prosecuted for unauthorized charges. Medical practice and other criminal activities.
However, the study and Barrineau suggested that other forms of regulation could be the basis for a productive compromise.
“There are rights protections,” Barrineau said. “Other professions are starting from that.”
Under that framework, which was examined in a 2020 study, practitioners who wish to use the title “naturopathic physician” and promote themselves as such must meet minimum educational requirements and meet state board requirements. Subject to professional discipline. However, the scope of practice remains unchanged and naturopathic physicians (even so-called naturopathic “physicians”) will still be prohibited from practicing as defined under unlicensed medical practice.
