9 August 2024
Below is my summary of the key discussions and decisions made at today's regular business meeting of the Board of Naturopathy, which regulates the practice of naturopathic medicine. (Please note that this summary does not reflect official meeting minutes of the Board, which is a completely separate entity from the WANP. The reflections and notes below are my own and should not be assumed to represent the Board of Naturopathy in any way.)
Public Comment
During this part of the meeting, public attendee Dr. Kasra Pournadeali noted that the naturopathic physician program revenue has been experiencing a significant overage and requested that the Board of Naturopathy partner with an accredited naturopathic medical school or with a professional association representing naturopathic physicians to sponsor continuing education for naturopathic physician licensees. He asserted that this would be consistent with the mission of the Department, would enhance credibility of the Department with licensees and the public, and would allow licensees a benefit more valuable than a small license fee reduction.
Presentation on the Federation of Naturopathic Medical Regulating Authorities (FNMRA)
Rebecca Mitchell, Executive Director of the California Board of Naturopathic Medicine, shared a presentation on the value of FNMRA for state regulatory authorities. She highlighted some of the services offered to states by FNMRA: 1) facilitating communication among ND regulatory authorities; 2) providing a central location for regulatory authority information (e.g. scope of practice, licensing requirements, formularies, etc.); 3) providing a database of disciplinary actions in all jurisdictions and Canada. Ms. Mitchell explained that the FNMRA is composed of members of active boards that have regulatory jurisdiction and that membership fees are based on the number of active licensees in the jurisdictions. She reported that membership fees do not cover the cost of operations of FNMRA. Ms. Mitchell advised that FNMRA was founded by the regulatory boards of Arizona, Oregon, Washington, and Ontario (Canada) in 2011; prior to that time, there was nothing like this to facilitate communication and information-sharing among ND regulatory authorities.
Ms. Mitchell urged the Board to support continued membership in FNMRA given the large number of licensees in Washington, the presence of Bastyr University in Washington, and Washington's history as a founding member of the organization. She emphasized the need for FNMRA to support regulatory structure for the naturopathic physician profession and to help ensure safe licensure across all states.
After some questions by Board members, Dr. Chad Aschtgen moved to continue the Washington Board of Naturopathy's membership in FNMRA. The motion passed with Drs. Amira Ahdut, Chad Aschtgen, and Joanne Hillary voting in favor; Dr. Elias Kass and public member Brooke Fotheringham abstained.
Substantial Equivalency/Jurisprudence Examination
The subcommittee on this recommended converting the jurisprudence examination from paper to electronic format (thereby eliminating fees associated with the exam), to require the jurisprudence exam to be taken within one year of licensure, updating passing requirements to be 100%, and allotting 1 hour of Category 3 continuing education credit to completing this test. The Board also discussed adding Frequently Asked Questions on the Board's website and encouraging new licensees to read through them when becoming licensed in Washington.
Department of Health Draft Sunrise Review Report
Dr. Kass expressed concern about the assertion in the Department's draft Sunrise Review report that the Board of Naturopathy cannot regulate an expanded scope as well as about the inaccuracies in the report about the training and education of naturopathic physicians. He inquired as to whether the Board could draft a letter responding to the draft report to correct some of the erroneous information. Dr. Aschtgen concurred, expressing frustration with the claim in the report that the Board lacks expertise and ability to safely regulate the profession, and urged a well-crafted response by the Board within the open public comment period. Drs. Aschtgen and Kass volunteered to draft a response from the Board.
2025 Meeting Dates
The Board approved the following meeting dates for 2025: February 7, May 9, August 8, and November 14.
Board of Naturopathy/Naturopathic Physician Program Budget and Overage
BON Executive Director James Chaney shared that the Department is trying to figure out how to fund the transition to HELMS, including how much the state is paying versus how much the professions need to pay. They are actively trying to create a fund balance that keeps the professional license fees reasonable - even with increased disciplinary actions and with HELMS costs.
Statistics
As of this meeting, there are 1,636 active naturopathic physician licenses.
Board of Naturopathy Recruitment
The staff responsible for this at the Governor's office has been out for some time and the response has been that they are looking into it but have no new information to share. Mr. Chaney has continued to express concerns to leadership that the functionality of the Board could be impacted by delays in new appointments. Drs. Ahdut and Aschtgen have continued serving despite their terms expiring one year ago; Dr. Hillary and Ms. Fotheringham's terms expire next year; there remains a vacant public member position on the Board.
Please direct any questions about this summary to me at executive@wanp.org
~Angela Ross, ND | Executive Director, WANP