HELP BRING NATURAL MEDICINE TO FLORIDA

Naturopathic Physician Licensing Bill

 The Florida Naturopathic Physicians Association (FNPA) is proposing legislation that would re-start the licensure process for naturopathic doctors.  Here are some quick facts:

What is it?

Naturopathic medicine is a distinct system of primary health care - an art, science, philosophy and practice of diagnosis, treatment and prevention of illness. Naturopathic medicine is distinguished by the principles that underlie and determine its practice. These principles are based upon the objective observation of the nature of health and disease, and are continually reexamined in the light of scientific advances. Methods used are consistent with these principles and are chosen upon the basis of patient individuality. Naturopathic medicine emphasizes promotion of health, prevention of disease, patient education and individual responsibility. Naturopathic doctors (NDs) are trained as primary care physicians of natural medicine.

Naturopathic physicians are extensively trained in nutrition (diet and nutritional supplements), health-risk assessment, homeopathy, botanical medicine, counseling, and naturopathic physical medicine (such as therapeutic ultrasound, diathermy, hydrotherapy, and naturopathic manipulative therapy). Naturopathic childbirth (with special training), minor office procedures (superficial skin wound repair, etc.), and naturally derived prescription drugs and their synthetic analogs (antibiotics, hormones, etc.) are also part of naturopathic training and practice. In the naturopathic approach, it is often not the specific treatment alone that distinguishes naturopathic treatment and practice but the holistic perspective and rationale that informs the treatment strategy.
     
United States Department of Labor, Dictionary of Occupational Titles Definition of a Naturopathic Doctor Diagnoses, treats, and cares for patients, using system of practice that bases treatment of physiological functions and abnormal conditions on natural laws governing human body: Utilizes physiological, psychological, and mechanical methods, such as air, water, light, heat, earth, phytotherapy, food and herb therapy, psychotherapy, electrotherapy, physiotherapy, minor and orificial surgery, mechanotherapy, naturopathic corrections and manipulation, and natural methods or modalities, together with natural medicines natural processed foods, and herbs and nature's remedies. Excludes major surgery, therapeutic use of x-ray and radium, and use of drugs, except those assimilable substances containing elements or compounds of body tissues that are physiologically compatible to body processes for maintenance of life.
 

Background

• Naturopathic doctors have been licensed in Florida since 1927.
• The licensing of new naturopathic doctors was stopped by the legislature in 1959, due to the closing of the last naturopathic medical college.
• There are now five naturopathic medical colleges producing naturopathic doctors, including one in Florida.  These are four-year accredited medical schools.
• There are now 13 states that license naturopathic doctors (the latest is California), and efforts are underway in 30 other states to obtain licensing for naturopaths.

Public Benefits

• Health care consumers are demanding alternatives to typical conventional medicine treatments of drugs and surgery.
• The Florida Silver-Haired Legislature made the passage of legislation to license naturopathic doctors their #1 priority in the 2004 Florida legislature.
• Integrative medical clinics have been opened in Florida and around the country, focusing on the best of naturopathic and conventional medicine, for the purpose of promoting wellness and disease prevention.
• The public knows that untrained naturopathic doctors have caused the death of at least two patients (North Carolina and California), and hope that does not occur here in Florida. There are over 600 correspondence school trained NDs in Florida.

FNPA Legislation for 2005

• The legislation would increase the choices of health care consumers in Florida.
• The legislation would benefit consumers by providing well-trained primary care physicians trained in natural medicine, disease prevention, nutrition and wellness.
• The legislation would re-establish the Florida Board of Naturopathic Medicine.
• The legislation would set high educational and licensing standards, so that consumers would have access to highly trained medical personnel.
• The legislation would protect public safety by preventing naturopathic “diploma mills” from dumping untrained naturopathic doctors into Florida.

Opposition

• The FMA has publicly expressed opposition to the bill because of alleged lack of training issues (not true), but privately have said, “We don’t want competition”.
• Lobbyists representing the diploma mills are also working in Florida to keep the bill from passing and to assure that the owners of these schools keep raking in millions of dollars in phony diplomas.

 What to do

• Contact Bob Harris, FNPA Lobbyist, 850-222-0720, for more information on how you can help bring safe, regulated natural medicine to Florida.

• www.FNPA.org

Links to other Alternative Medicine:

• Homeopathy