7 October 2024
For the past several months, we have been actively participating in the rule-making initiated by the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) to update multiple sections of WAC 388-823. The WANP submitted both written and oral testimony urging the Department to recognize diagnoses by naturopathic physicians to determine eligibility for state services. We are delighted to share that the Department accepted every one of our recommendations and honored every one of our requests!
Effective today, a diagnosis by a naturopathic physician in Washington will now be accepted by DSHS/DDA to help patients and their families access state support for cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorder, other neurological or other conditions similar to intellectual disability, and developmental delays. We are so grateful to the Department for its careful work on this and to WANP members who supported and advised our efforts.
Note: The Uniform Disciplinary Act (UDA) requires that healthcare practitioners only provide care they are able to competently provide. No one should provide these diagnoses without proper training and understanding of how to diagnose these conditions. In order to diagnose autism spectrum disorder in Washington, you must have completed training and be designated as a Center of Excellence (COE) provider. Learn more about this here.