Legal Bites: Short Answers
With Dr. Stephanie Berg, JD, ND
-
NDs may not sign DMV disabled lacard forms, may not sign state disability insurance forms (EDD), or bill or perform MediCal or MediCare services, including SSI or SSD physical evaluations.
-
California doesn't have a formulary. Instead, California NDs can prescribe all natural and synthetic hormones independently plus epinephrine for anaphylaxis, and in order to prescribe anything else, they need to have a written supervisory agreement in place with a CA licensed MD/DO, and that agreement would have a formulary agreed upon with the MD/DO supervisor. The formulary can include any prescription drug, including controlled substances, but no Schedule I or II.
-
As for the primary care issue, in the California Business and Professions Code Section 3613(c) (part of the Naturopathic Doctors Act), NDs are referred to as primary health care providers ((c) “Naturopathic medicine” means a distinct and comprehensive system of primary health care practiced by a naturopathic doctor for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of human health conditions, injuries, and disease.), BUT in practice, it's hard for NDs in California to fully act as the patient's PCP because of limitations in scope. Much of the restrictions around this stem from the fact that naturopathic doctors in CA cannot use the "physician" title, limiting NDs in CA from signing many medical documents, holding hospital admitting privileges, etc. Plus NDs in CA aren't covered by insurance generally. NDs are primary care providers in California, but so are acupuncturists and other non-physician providers....the term in California, refers to the fact that NDs can be a first point of contact for health care in the state and order lab work, but does not necessarily designate the full scope of what many would define for a PCP.
