Law Licensing Naturopathic Doctors Takes Effect in California
California on Jan. 14 became the 13th state to license naturopathic doctors, a move that will allow naturopaths to prescribe certain natural drugs, the Los Angeles Times reports. The naturopathic profession -- which recommends a healthy diet, exercise and avoidance of drugs -- "considers California's action an important step to legitimizing this little-known field," according to the Times.
To obtain a license, naturopaths will be required to attend one of six accredited naturopathic colleges in North America and pass a standardized national board exam. The first two years of instruction are similar to medical school, but in the third and fourth years students specialize in subjects such as Ayurveda, the ancient medical system from India; homeopathy, an illness treatment system using diluted doses of natural substances; or acupuncture.
Soram Khalsa, an internist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles who uses naturopathic treatments along with conventional medicine, said, "People are realizing that Western medicine has many answers but not all the answers, especially in the last three months with the increasing number of stories in the news about Vioxx, Celebrex and statin drugs."
Although the state will license naturopaths, some health plans will not reimburse for their services. For example, Blue Cross of California spokesperson Michael Chee said the company had "no plans at this time" to cover visits to naturopaths, and Blue Shield of California spokesperson Elise Anderson said the company "just doesn't have enough information at this time to make a comment."
In addition, the California Medical Association opposed the law permitting the licensure of naturopaths and opposes allowing naturopaths to prescribe medicines.
CMA CEO Jack Lewin said, "There was a concern that this was simply a first step toward getting other privileges," such as the ability to perform surgery and deliver babies, which naturopaths currently are not permitted to perform. He added, "We are worried that the consistency and quality of training for naturopaths varies considerably" (MacGregor, Los Angeles Times, 1/17).