Practice Management
As concerns grow over high health care costs and poor health outcomes in the United States, a growing number of policymakers, health care practitioners, and other stakeholders are calling for an expansion of the focus of our health care system to keeping people healthy in addition to providing medical treatment after a person gets sick. To accomplish this change, health care professionals from a broad range of disciplines must come together in primary care teams. Trained as primary care doctors and to emphasize prevention, licensed naturopathic doctors (NDs) have a central role to play in...
Read more
The most important criteria in selecting a naturopathic doctor (ND) are that the doctor:
- has a naturopathic medical degree earned from an accredited, four-year, in-residence, naturopathic medical college
- has passed rigorous board exams as part of a licensure or certification process
There are currently seven accredited naturopathic medical programs in North America. They are: Bastyr University, National University of Natural Medicine, National University of Health Sciences, Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine, University of Bridgeport—College of...
Read more
The FDA has recently approved the first direct-to-consumer reporting of a germline mutation for cancer risk—specifically, three BRCA gene mutations tested by 23andme.
Understandably, this has garnered a lot of media attention.
All practitioners should know that there are several caveats to this approval.
According to the FDA, "The test only detects three out of more than 1,000 known BRCA mutations. This means a negative result does not rule out the possibility that an individual carries other BRCA mutations that increase cancer risk."
Also according to the FDA...
Read more
Licensed naturopathic doctors (NDs) are regulated at the state level to practice naturopathic medicine. Naturopathic medical students attend accredited, four-year, in-residence, naturopathic medical schools where they study biomedical sciences such as anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pathology, and pharmacology. Their medical education incorporates the latest advances in science and natural approaches to illness prevention and management. Students complete a minimum of 4,100 hours of class and clinical training,...
Read more
1. When patients are looking for a doctor who will treat the body as a whole, not just the illness.
Naturopathic doctors (NDs) are trained to treat the whole person. This requires taking the time to listen and understand the genetic, environmental, and behavioral/lifestyle factors that can affect the patient’s health. At the initial appointment, they’ll spend up to an hour or more talking with their ND.
2. When patients want personalized treatment.
NDs understand there is no one-size-fits-all treatment that works for everybody. After...
Read more
Naturopathic medicine is a distinct practice of medicine that emphasizes prevention and the self-healing process to treat each person holistically and improve outcomes while lowering health care costs.
Naturopathic doctors (NDs) are educated and trained in accredited naturopathic medical colleges. They diagnose, prevent and treat acute and chronic illness, restore and establish optimal health by supporting the person's inherent self-healing process. Rather than just suppressing symptoms, NDs work to identify underlying causes of illness, and develop personalized treatment plans to...
Read more
Accredited naturopathic medical schools are four-year, in-residence, hands-on medical programs consisting of a minimum of 4,100 hours of class and clinical training. During naturopathic medical school, students are educated in the biomedical sciences as well as the latest advances in science in combination with natural approaches to therapy. They also study disease prevention and clinical techniques.
In addition to a standard medical curriculum, schools require their graduates to complete four years of training in...
Read more
Why is it that so many patients are looking for alternative and complementary medicines and treatments?
Should more studies be conducted on alternative or complementary treatments, or is it a waste of money and time?
Does integrative medicine belong in academic medical centers—should it be taught at all?
These are among the questions that I discussed last month as a panelist on a Medscape Facebook Live event—Both Sides Now with medical ethicist Dr. Art Caplan. The theme: “Alternative Medicine: Should Physicians Embrace or Reject It?” You...
Part I presented compelling data on both the efficacy and the economic savings of naturopathic approaches to reducing cardiovascular risk and chronic back pain. Two more studies are discussed below, followed by data on patient behavior, which indicates significant cost savings for those who seek naturopathic care.
The two other studies did not have companion economic analyses, but they did show significant health improvements. Adjunctive naturopathic care for...
Read more
Naturopathic doctors may at times receive this question from their patients. It is nice to know that there is an evidence-based response that says “Yes!”
Rising health care costs have been a fact for some time. Evidence is now emerging that adding or enhancing adjunctive care services can serve to reduce overall costs. Much of the evidence relates to treating chronic conditions that can be major cost drivers within health care. This article highlights the findings from four randomized clinical trials conducted in partnership with a major Canadian corporation and a major union, and...
Read more