The regulation and licensure of naturopathic doctors, creating a naturopathic medicine examining board, granting rule-making authority, and providing a penalty. (FE)

A naturopathic doctor licensed under the bill may practice naturopathic medicine, which is defined in the bill and includes a number of specific practices, as well as a number of practices that are excluded from the definition. The bill also allows the board to further define the scope of practice of naturopathic medicine by expressly authorizing or prohibiting certain practices. The practice of naturopathic medicine includes prescribing drugs, but the bill expressly prohibits naturopathic doctors from prescribing Schedule I and II controlled substances and narcotics classified under Schedule III.

The bill requires the board to promulgate rules that establish standards of practice for and a code of ethics governing the professional conduct of naturopathic doctors, continuing education requirements for licensure renewal, and examination standards for licensure, including required passing scores. The bill allows the board to establish other requirements for initial licensure or renewal of a license and also allows the board to adopt minimum malpractice insurance requirements for naturopathic doctors. The bill includes provisions for the professional discipline of licensees, which allow the board to take certain actions against a licensee who violates certain prohibitions in the bill.

Finally, the bill also applies certain other laws, such as the law providing for confidentiality of health care records and the health care workers whistleblowers protection law, to licensed naturopathic doctors and allows naturopathic doctors to perform certain actions that can be performed by physicians or other health care providers, including allowing a naturopathic doctor who is directly involved with the care of a patient to pronounce a patient's date, time, and place, but not cause, of death.

Because this bill creates a new crime or revises a penalty for an existing crime, the Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties may be requested to prepare a report.

Because this bill relates to an exemption from state or local taxes, it may be referred to the Joint Survey Committee on Tax Exemptions for a report to be printed as an appendix to the bill.