WA DOH Sunrise Review Public Hearing on SB 5411 | Virtual

The Washington State Senate Health and Long Term Care Committee has requested the department review a proposal to increase the naturopathic physician scope of practice to assess whether it meets the sunrise criteria in RCW 18.120.010. The request includes, among other additions, the ability to prescribe schedule II-V controlled substances. The applicant group for this proposal is the Washington Association of Naturopathic Physicians (WANP).

Thank you for all of the comments you have provided thus far in the process. The department received 1,100 written comments on this proposal. Please visit their web page to view all of the comments received.

There will be a public comment meeting on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, from 9:00 am to noon (Pacific time) for anyone who wants to provide oral comments. If you would like to participate in this meeting, please register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_KdClgU4-QTKaepbTVTe6iA After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

There will be a last opportunity to comment in the summer of 2024 when the department shares a draft report for public comments.

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This meeting is an opportunity to provide oral comments on the sunrise proposal under review, which the department will consider along with the written comments already received.

Here are more details on how they will manage the public comments:

• Due to the large number of participants, there will be a time limit on comments to ensure the meeting ends on time. They will use the number of registrants signed up to comment by April 19 to determine the time limit.
• They will send out the time limit on April 22 so folks can adjust their comments accordingly. For now, they are estimating approximately 2 minutes per commenter based on the number of attendees already registered.
• They have sent a request to everyone who marked “unsure” on their registrations and given them until close of business April 19 to let the department know if they wish to comment so they can ensure sufficient time for everyone.
• At the meeting:
  • They will call on individuals in the order of their registrations in Zoom. They’ll also call out the next few people to give you a heads up when your time is approaching. (They will have a time keeper to ensure everyone stays within the time limit.)
  • Only those registered to speak will be called on.
  • You cannot comment more than once or give your time to someone else.
  • This meeting is to hear your comments, not for Q&A. If you have questions, those can be sent to sunrise@doh.wa.gov.