Dear Friends of Naturopathic Medicine
As outlined in the media release at the end of this article (distributed nationally in mid-February), the Liberals are set to seriously alter the delivery of naturopathic medical care. If you have ever relied on an ND for care, see an ND now or expect to in the future, the care you’ve received is about to be compromised. We are urging past and present patients to write a short letter to the Premier. The issues are outlined in the news release, and you can get more details from the documents online. We’ve also captured some of the major issues in short paragraphs below to help delineate the problem. Your writing time is much appreciated. Send letters to:
The Honourable Gordon Campbell, Premier
Room 156, Parliament Buildings
Victoria, BC, V7V 1X4
Letter Templates: Write Your Own or Choose From the Following
Dear Premier:
I receive primary healthcare from a naturopathic doctor. My naturopathic doctor has helped me in ways where the government system has failed. I also save the government money—I pay the government money for healthcare which I don’t use, pay again for care from my naturopathic doctor, and I don’t put pressure on our regular health system. Despite all this the provincial government has refused to recognize the value and credibility of naturopathic medical care. I urge the minister of health to please step forward and recognize naturopathic doctors as primary healthcare providers. I would appreciate a response to my letter.
Dear Premier:
I don’t understand why naturopathic doctors can’t access provincial medical labs. The labs are privately owned and publicly funded. Naturopathic doctors are licensed doctors providing primary healthcare. It doesn’t make sense to me why the government allows this to happen—you have the power to allow licensed healthcare professionals access yet you haven’t acted on this. Why should I have my naturopathic doctor have to send my blood work out of province? It’s my understanding that as far back as the Royal Commission report in the 1980s, there has been a recommendation to allow naturopathic doctors lab access. What’s taking so long? I would appreciate a letter from your ministry explaining why there is delay in taking action on this.
Dear Premier:
Why can’t the government put more emphasis on preventative healthcare? My naturopathic doctor emphasizes diet improvement, healthy lifestyle changes and health education. All of these things are integral to having a healthy society that does not drain our government health system. But the government doesn’t recognize this value. My naturopathic doctor can’t even access provincial labs for standard diagnostic tests! In fact, he can’t even get some of the integral non-drug items he needs to do his job as a doctor simply because the government won’t recognize him as a primary healthcare provider. I would like to know why the government refuses to act on behalf of licensed naturopathic doctors serving British Columbians. Please respond to my letter.
Dear Premier:
I consider my naturopathic doctor to be my sole healthcare practitioner. At present, if I were to need a prescription, I would need to go to the “walk-in clinic” or the emergency ward to see a medical doctor. My naturopathic doctor tells me that although he is trained to use prescriptions, your government is denying her the ability to treat me according to my needs. I would appreciate a response to my letter.
Dear Premier:
As a patient, why can I not get a copy of my medical records sent to my ND? My medical doctor refused to release my records to my naturopathic doctor, even after I have signed a Release of Records form. I would like to know why your government is allowing this to happen.
Dear Premier:
If I need a referral to a specialist, my naturopathic doctor tells me that he cannot make that referral, even though he is my primary care provider and has made the diagnosis. It seems to me that this must be costing me, as a taxpayer, a lot of money. This requires at least two visits to my medical doctor, which the health budget should not be paying for.
Dear Premier:
I see both a medical doctor and a naturopathic doctor. My medical doctor has been very open about the fact that he does not support naturopathic medical care. This antagonism has made me feel very uncomfortable and that I cannot be open and up front with my medical doctor because I fear that my level of care may be jeopardized. I would like to know why your government is not advocating better acceptance of naturopathic medicine by the medical profession.
Letters that are handwritten have the greatest impact. Given our high-tech society, this seems a bit ridiculous and redundant. However, politicians look at it this way: If you are prepared to take the time to hand-write a letter, then you really feel passionate about the subject and there are probably 100-200 other people who haven’t written who feel exactly the same way you do. Your hand-written letter is equivalent to 200 emails or typed letters!! Write it in your own words or choose something from the list provided. Make sure to send copies to all MPs and MLAs in your area.
Thank you so much for your continued support of naturopathic medicine in BC.
MEDIA RELEASE
BC Liberals Poised to Limit Patient Choice
Kelowna, BC—The British Columbia Liberal Government is preparing to reduce the scope of practice for naturopathic physicians based on the government’s document entitled Safe Choices: a New Model for Regulating Health Professions in British Columbia.
Dr. Garrett Swetlikoff, ND, President of the British Columbia Naturopathic Association (BCNA) said, “Safe Choices represents a huge, backwards step for naturopathic medicine and health care in British Columbia.” In a recent letter to Dr. Penny Ballem, Deputy Minister of Health Services, Dr. Swetlikoff went on to say, “The proposed changes will only serve to limit access for hundreds of thousands of existing patients seeking complementary medical care from qualified professionals.”
Naturopathic physicians have been providing safe, effective, valid health care for over a century. Safe Choices ignores this history, obliterates the current reality of naturopathic medical care, education and skill, and the Liberal Government has not acted in good faith.
“The entire review process has resulted in recommendations that are a radical departure from what naturopathic medicine has been and it is deeply offensive to both doctors and the patients naturopathic physicians care for,” said Dr. Swetlikoff.
The Liberal Government claims to believe in the necessity of quality preventative health care, yet they accept a scope document that will: ·
- Limit patient choice and decrease health care options; ·
- Eliminate safe, effective, and economical preventative health care options for residents of BC that conventional allopathic medicine does not provide; ·
- Disregard the precedents and past agreements regarding scope of practice for naturopathic physicians; and ·
- Legitimize a dubious double standard contrary to the spirit of shared scopes of practice model.
Safe Choices: A New Model for Regulating Health Professions in British Columbia is a sham. All British Columbians should ask their MLA why the Liberals (whose political platform encourages freedom of choice and free enterprise) want to restrict a health care profession which it does not support financially (i.e., MSP), whose safety record is impeccable, and is in high demand by the public.
To find the name and address of your local MLA, go to http://www.legis.gov.bc.ca/mla/3-1-1.htm
Read a copy of “Safe Choices” at: http://www.healthplanning.gov.bc.ca/leg/hpc/review/part-i/update-naturopath.html