Prescriptive Rights for NDs
29 Nov
The recent announcement that Ontario naturopathic doctors will be granted expanded prescription rights has initiated discussion around natural medicine’s role in our health care system. Discussion, including both positive and negative statements, is a good thing as it sheds light on what, in my humble opinion, is an important topic. A recent opinion piece entitled, “Naturopathy a prescription for quackery,” published by the National Post was particularly critical of the naturopathic profession. What I find most offensive about this article is not that it challenges the idea of prescriptive rights for naturopathic doctors, but that its arguments are not factually based, and therefore serve to spread misinformation about the naturopathic profession. Although clearly meant to be inflammatory in nature, Mr. Gavura’s post provides an excellent opportunity to educate individuals about naturopathic medicine and our reasons for seeking prescriptive rights. In the following lines I wish to address, what I feel, are some of Mr. Gavura’s most unfounded objections to naturopathic doctors receiving prescriptive rights. (Objections are quoted from his op-ed piece and are only numbered for ease of reading).
