Naturopathic Doctors are licensed health care providers in Ontario, regulated by the College of Naturopaths of Ontario (CONO). Why is regulation important? This means NDs are accountable to our college to maintain standards of care, standards of charting, and that we update our knowledge through continuing education courses.
Naturopathic Doctors study lifestyle medicine and natural medicine. Instead of learning as much about drugs and surgery as medical doctors do in medical school, we spend more time learning about nutrition, lifestyle change, physical treatments, supplements, and herbs. This means that we are well prepared to help you achieve health, and avoid disease. Drugs and surgery can be very important and necessary, but often times, an important and less emphasized factor in improving symptoms of chronic health conditions comes from changing behaviours in your daily life.
Naturopathic Doctors have completed at least 8 years of post-secondary education. We are required to graduate from an undergraduate degree, meeting certain criteria of science prerequisite courses, in order to apply to the naturopathic medicine program. There are currently two accredited schools in Canada that have programs in naturopathic medicine: the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, and the Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine. There are 5 other accredited schools in the United States as well.
Naturopathic Doctors are (mostly) covered under your extended benefits plans! Check yours! Any visits with a licensed naturopathic doctor are HST free, as well.
At Core, our team’s naturopathic doctor is Dr. Andrew Krause ND. You can read more about his practice here
Naturopathic Doctors have studied the basic sciences (anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, endocrinology), which prepares us to work together with your family doctor, specialists, chiropractor, osteopath, registered massage therapist, or any other health care providers with which you seek care.
Naturopathic Doctors can request lab work (not covered by OHIP) and deliver a diagnosis. This means that we can act as a primary point of contact in non-emergent health situations to be able to help decide how to best get you back to health.
Naturopathic Doctors interact with your other health care professionals. All professionals can be better at their jobs by having open communication (with your approval) with each other. By keeping your other health care providers in the know about changes that we are making to your care plan, they too can make the most informed decisions about how they can help you best.
Naturopathic Doctors CAN prescribe some drugs in Ontario, if an ND has passed an additional exam. Dr. Krause ND has not taken this exam, and thus he doesn’t prescribe any drugs in his practice, but regularly refers to colleagues when drugs are the best option for his patients.
A naturopathic doctor can NOT tell you to stop any medication that you are currently taking unless they have prescribing authority for that drug, and we will not interfere with any prescriptions that your family doctor has made without a conversation with the prescribing doctor.
There is a lot of variety between naturopathic doctors, so Dr. Krause ND likes to be clear about aspects of his practice:
1. Dr. Krause ND doesn’t recommend an altered vaccine schedule.
2. Dr. Krause ND does not to use homeopathy in his practice.
3. Dr. Krause ND does not treat cancer in any way.
Naturopathic doctors can get additional training in integrative oncology (which he has not completed), and the highest standard in the profession is held by naturopathic doctors that are board certified by the American Board of Naturopathic Oncology, and carry the FABNO (Fellow of the American Board of Naturopathic Oncology) designation.
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