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?
This depends upon the patient’s insurance plan. Some plans have an alternative medicine clause which will cover up to a designated amount for various alternative medicine therapies each year. Currently, some plans are reimbursing patients for their visits and lab tests.
The New Hampshire Naturopathic Association of Naturopathic Doctors (NHAND) is working to expand licensure in New Hampshire to improve insurance coverage and broaden our scope of practice to better serve our patients.
What is the Naturopathic Philosophy?
Naturopathic medicine is perhaps best described by its six defining principles:
- First do no harm
- Healing occurs by way of nature
- Treat the whole person
- Treat the cause
- Prevent disease
- Doctor as teacher
"First do no harm" was Hippocrates' instruction to physicians and may be thought of as an application of The Golden Rule. Whatever intervention a doctor can make in a patient's health and life, the only acceptable action is ones that will do no further damage to the patient's health.
Second, naturopaths rely on the healing power of nature to help restore patients to complete health. The really excellent naturopath is one who knows how to "work the modalities"; that is, to be able to draw from the vast materia medica of natural materials to help the sick become well and be able to apply them to the great variety and complication of illnesses that are common today.
The third principle is to 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.
The fourth principle is to treat the cause. Naturopathy is more than just prescribing herbs for a condition instead of pharmaceutical medications. Treating the whole person means that what may be causing heart disease in one patient does not mean that is the case in the next. A good naturopathic doctor treats the patient in front of them, not the disease.
To prevent disease is another naturopathic principle, and one that is closest to the long-term naturopathic goal of helping patients to achieve a healthy life. This improved lifestyle is what enables 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.
The last principle is perhaps the most important of all. In order to best help patients it is as important for a doctor to be a teacher 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.