Dear Minister Hoskins,
I recently had the opportunity to meet with a constituent of mine, Jennifer Lococo who is a Naturopathic Doctor in Niagara West-Glanbrook, regarding proclamation of the Naturopathy Act, 2007, the Controlled Acts regulation that accompanies proclamation, and the implications for patients of Naturopathic Doctors.
We need to ensure our health care system is accessible to all Ontarians and offers patients a greater choice in their own care. I believe Naturopathic Doctors (NDs) play a growing role in that accessibility and choice. So, while I am happy to see progress being made on proclamation, there is an opportunity here to improve the quality of our health care and create a more efficient system that will have the resources available to expand care, offer new therapies and new drug treatments.
Right now, however, it appears the implementation is sloppy, and is going to cause unnecessary disruption in care for patients of naturopathy while increasing costs.
I have been contacted by 127 constituents, and counting. They are concerned about the sudden disruption in the quality of service they’ve been receiving from their ND for years.
Minister, now that we are running out of time I’m asking that you dedicate Ministry resources to the following three issues to minimize disruption of patient treatment:
- Specimen Collection. These restrictions mean patients will need to travel to laboratories to have specimen collection done, such as blood draws, which puts in place barriers to health care. Patients with mobility issues or who are immune compromised should not need to travel to a second facility unnecessarily. Having access to these services at their naturopath’s office makes health care more accessible for patients, improves quality of care, is more efficient and cost effective.
- Controlled Acts Regulation. The other concern is that NDs will not be permitted to compound, prescribe, sell or dispense substances to patients unless they have passed the pharmacology exam. Compound substances are made to order, in the naturopath’s office, and are administered right away. Losing the ability to compound, and rely on only two pharmaceutical companies in Canada, means those compounds could contain expired substances, putting their efficacy in question and compromising patient care.
- Given that the first opportunity to take this exam was June 14, I think it is reasonable to provide NDs with a grace period to allow for those exam marks to be returned and to ensure patient care is not compromised. It is unfair to the NDs and their patients to remove their ability to compound substances until they pass an exam then the exam nor the marks on it were not readily available.
Having the ability to closely monitor patients, by allowing specimen collection in the ND office, and to customize care through compounding and prescriptions allows for a continuity of care that would be lost if these restrictions are put in place. Especially given that the Ministry of Health had eight years to prepare for this transition but has let ND patients down with this last minute scramble.
As Dr. Lococo said to me, Naturopathic Doctors would love to be regulated to maintain and ensure high standards , but not at the cost of their ability to provide care to their patients.
Minister, I support Naturopathic Doctors in their requests around the Controlled Acts regulation and ask that you work with the transitional Council of the College of Naturopaths of Ontario and the Ontario Association of Naturopathic Doctors to find solutions that meet the needs of patients of Naturopathic Medicine in Niagara West-Glanbrook and across Ontario.
Sincerely,
Tim Hudak, MPP
Niagara West Glanbrook