NATUROPATHIC MEDICINE FAQs
What is the scope of practice of ND’s in New Hampshire?
In some states, Naturopathic doctors practice as primary care physicians with full insurance coverage and a full scope of practice including extensive prescription rights. New Hampshire has a more limited scope of practice for Naturopathic Doctors.
Naturopathic doctors are licensed in NH to do the following:
- Diagnose and treat patients
- Woman’s and Men’s Health—pap smears, wet preps, breast and prostate exams
- Order standard lab tests and diagnostic imaging (routine blood work, x-rays, ultrasounds, mammograms etc)
- Standard physical examinations (heart, lung, GI, neurological etc)
- Prescribe certain medications such as antibiotics, vaccinations and hormones (thyroid, insulin and sex hormones)
- Administer vaccinations (usually alternative schedules) and basic phlebotomy services
Can any Doctor in New Hampshire call themselves a Naturopathic Doctor?
No. New Hampshire is a licensed state which means in order to practice as a Naturopathic Doctor in New Hampshire, the doctor must have graduated from one of six accredited Naturopathic medical schools, passed both basic science and clinical board exams, been approved by the State for licensure, and maintain yearly continuing education requirements.
Are Naturopathic Doctors covered by insurance?
In the state of NH, insurance providers do not currently contract with Naturopathic Doctors and we therefore are unable to accept medical insurance. However, if your insurance provides coverage for non-network providers, you it’s possible that you can get reimbursed for office appointment fees. The amount of reimbursement will vary depending upon your insurance carrier and your contract with them. Upon request, Happy N Healthy Naturopathy will provide you with a completed “superbill” with the necessary insurance codes for you to submit to your insurance company for reimbursement. We cannot guarantee you will be reimbursed, and encourage patients to contact their insurance provider ahead of time if this is a condition of seeing Dr. Klasman.
What is the Naturopathic Philosophy?
Naturopathic Doctors are guided by a philosophy that allows them to provide personalized medical care and promote health rather than only treating disease symptoms. These principles are as follows:
- The Healing Power of Nature: Naturopathic medicine recognizes the body's inherent ability to heal itself. Naturopathic doctors act to identify and remove obstacles to recovery, and to facilitate and augment this healing ability.
- Identify and Treat the Cause: The naturopathic doctor seeks to identify and remove the underlying causes of illness, rather than to eliminate or merely suppress symptoms. A good naturopathic doctor treats the patient in front of them, not the disease
- First Do No Harm: To adhere to this principle, naturopathic doctors follow three guidelines:
- Utilize methods and medicinal substances which minimize the risk of harmful side effects.
- Avoid, when possible, the harmful suppression of symptoms.
- Acknowledge and respect the individual's healing process, using the least force necessary to diagnose and treat illness.
- Doctor as Teacher: The word “Doctor” is derived from the Latin word Docere which means “to teach”. This principle is perhaps the most important of all. In order to best help patients get well, it is as important for a doctor to be a teacher as well as a healer. In accordance with the idea that if you give someone a fish he may eat that day, but if you teach him to fish he may eat for a lifetime, the doctor must teach how to heal. Ultimately, the most successful patients learn to take responsibility for their own health, with the doctor acting as a resource and tutor toward that goal.
- Treat the Whole Person: When one system is out of balance, others may be as well. If a patient has heart disease, the entire system is affected. Our goal is to address every aspect of the patient’s health, not just one symptom. Naturopathy also treats each individual by taking into account physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, genetic, environmental and social factors.
- Prevention: Naturopathic doctors emphasize disease prevention, assessment of risk factors and hereditary susceptibility to disease, and make appropriate interventions to prevent illness. Disease prevention is closest to the long-term naturopathic goal of helping patients to achieve a healthy life. By improving lifestyle we can enable the body to regain homeostasis, to strengthen the immune system, and to better deflect the constant stresses and toxic conditions that an industrial society imposes. Our study and practice of environmental medicine teaches the importance of removing toxins from the immediate environment (and ideally the larger environment) as well as from the patient's body. Naturopathic medicine strives to create a healthy world in which humanity may thrive.
- Wellness: Wellness follows the establishment and maintenance of optimum health and balance, and is not merely the absence of disease. Wellness is a state of being healthy, characterized by positive emotion, thought and action. It is inherent in everyone, regardless of what disease is being experienced. This is the ultimate goal of Naturopathic Medicine.
