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Naturopathic doctors are now regulated in Nova Scotia, though the province has yet to define exactly what medical services they will be permitted to provide.
The practitioners, who blend modern scientific medicine with natural therapies, became the 22nd medical health profession licensed under the province’s Regulated Health Professions Act on May 27.
“Nova Scotians now know that when they come to see a naturopathic doctor that they are seeing someone who’s fully regulated and qualified in terms of education and training,” said Dr. Tara Lantz, chair of the Nova Scotia Association of Naturopathic Doctors.
Approximately 85 naturopathic doctors are now standardized by the province’s chiropractic and naturopathic regulator, Lantz said. The transition establishes a clear legal framework for who can— and cannot — work under the professional title of “naturopath.”
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The new regulations will also create a complaint process for patients, alongside oversight and accountability for providers.
“It brings some public protection in the sense of title protection,” Lantz said.
Nova Scotia is the seventh province or territory in Canada to license naturopathic doctors and the first in Atlantic Canada.
Health Minister Michelle Thompson told reporters Thursday that more work still needs to be done before the regulations are implemented.
“I think it’s been a very positive and productive process and we appreciate the work they do in the province and so that will continue, but I don’t have a timeline,” she said.
‘Most progressive scopes of practice’: association
Thompson said the scope of work naturopathic doctors will be able to do is still being decided, but Lantz believes it will include a wide range of tasks.
“When it is all enacted, it will make us one of the most progressive scopes of practice in the country, which is super exciting,” Lantz said.
She expects practitioners in Nova Scotia will eventually be authorized to prescribe medication and make referrals, she said.
Thompson said she is aware naturopaths in other jurisdictions can take on several roles. But she emphasized that Nova Scotia must evaluate what fits local needs and determine if the health-care system has the capacity to expand these privileges to more providers.
“Those are the conversations that we’re having now,” the health minister said. “I think they’re a very valuable resource in our province and we want to work with the regulator to see what the art of the possible is.”
The provincial regulator did not respond to a request for comment.
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