Frequently Asked Questions
What is Naturopathic Medicine?
Naturopathic Medicine is the art and science of diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease using natural therapies with a focus on optimizing health and well-being through individualized patient care and public education. The main goal of Naturopathic Medicine is to support the body's inner healing potential to ensure that the root cause of disease is addressed. It aims to avoid the suppression of symptoms as that can lead to future ailments that may be worse than the original symptoms.
Does my Healthcare plan cover Naturopathic visits?
Most extended Healthcare plans provided privately or through your employer do cover a portion (typically 80%) if not all of the visits. It's a good idea to check with your individual Healthcare plan provider for details. For your convenience, we are now able to bill many plans directly including Pacific Blue Cross, Great West Life, Sunlife, Manulife and more.
Does MSP cover Naturopathic visits?
If you are under Premium Assistance with MSP they will cover $23 of each visit.
What kind of training do Naturopathic doctors receive?
Naturopathic Doctors receive extensive training over a four year program at an accredited Naturopathic College.
"Like a conventional doctor, dentist, or chiropractor, the naturopathic doctor first completes pre-medical studies at university. The naturopathic student then enters into a four-year, full-time medical program at an accredited school of naturopathic medicine. Training includes basic, medical, and clinical science; diagnostics; naturopathic principles and therapeutics; and extensive clinical experience under the supervision of licensed naturopathic doctors. Graduates receive the title "N.D." or Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine."-CAND
For more information on Naturopathic education please see the link provided by the BCNA: Medical Education: ND vs. MD ; or the link provided by the Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges: Comparing ND and MD curricula
Are Naturopathic doctors regulated in British Columbia?
Naturopathic doctors are regulated under the Health Professions Act in British Columbia -this is the same act that regulates medical doctors and pharmacists. Naturopathic doctors are licensed under the College of Naturopathic Physicians of British Columbia. Extensive licensing exams called NPLEX (www.nabne.org) are taken after year 2 and year 4 of the Naturopathic medical program that are required to be registered in North America, as well as provincial board examinations to be licensed in British Columbia as a Naturopathic physician.
How many visits should I expect to see a Naturopathic doctor for?
This depends on the type of condition and your individual characteristics. More chronic conditions will take longer to respond to treatment than acute conditions. However, our goal as physicians is to teach you how to live a healthy lifestyle, to take responsibility for your own health and to prevent disease. Therefore, we strive to come up with a lifelong treatment plan that will need only minor adjustments as your circumstances change in time. The amount of time this takes to complete is ultimately dependent on you and your health goals.
What conditions do you treat?
We do our best to treat all conditions. We look for the root cause of disease in order to heal the whole body and attempt to avoid the mere suppression of symptoms which can lead to future health problems.
What is the difference between a Naturopath and Homeopath?
Homeopathy is one of many modalities used by Naturopaths, but Homeopathy is its own form of medicine. Homeopaths are trained specifically to treat using solely Homeopathy.
For a more detailed description of Homeopathy please see our Services page.
