Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Scope Of Practice topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board approves advisory recommendations to clarify minor office procedures for naturopathic doctors
Summary
The California Board of Naturopathic Medicine voted 6-0 Aug. 20 to adopt advisory-committee recommendations that clarify which minor office procedures naturopathic doctors may perform and to include the recommendations in the board's sunset materials and potential future legislation.
The California Board of Naturopathic Medicine voted 6-0 Aug. 20 to approve recommendations from its Minor Office Procedure Advisory Committee clarifying which minor-office procedures licensed naturopathic doctors (NDs) may perform.
The advisory committee recommended that NDs’ scope explicitly include punch biopsies, superficial minor incisions for hormone pellet insertion, cryotherapy and wound care requiring simple suturing. Rebecca Mitchell, executive officer for the board, presented the advisory committee’s memorandum and advised the board that the committee reviewed education, NPLEX clinical competencies, and comparable rules in neighboring states.
Board chair Dara Thompson said the recommendation packet and the advisory committee memorandum are in the board materials and asked whether the board wanted to adopt the recommendations and include them in the board’s sunset report or pursue legislative action if the recommendations are not incorporated into sunset.
“We could include it in sunset, and should it not be adopted as part of sunset review, it be further considered for a legislative bill in the future,” Andrew Yam moved to adopt the advisory committee recommendation and include it in sunset materials; Mina Yoon seconded. After a roll-call vote, Thompson announced the motion carried, with Thompson, Yoon, Yam, Bruce Davidson, Deeparshi Mukherjee and Satara Theis voting aye.
Mitchell told the board staff will prepare the final language and next steps for communicating the scope clarification during the sunset process and to the legislature if needed. The advisory committee had reviewed training standards, exam comparability, and the relevance of postgraduate residencies and concluded the recommendations would improve patient access and regulatory clarity.
The board did not adopt new regulations at the meeting; it adopted the advisory committee report for inclusion in its official materials and directed staff to proceed with inclusion in the sunset review and to consider legislative options if sunset does not carry the recommendations.
The recommendation packet and advisory-committee minutes are in the board’s packet distributed to members.
