Amazing but true! You see, different bodies regulate different things in our health care system. For example, manufacturing companies that make and sell prescription drugs are regulated by the FDA, a federal (national) agency. On the other hand, pharmacists that mix and sell prescription drugs (compounding pharmacists) are regulated by their individual state boards of pharmacy. Likewise, health care practitioners are licensed to practice medicine by the states they live in.
The interesting part is that the state agencies that license health care practitioners are made up of people (usually doctors) often appointed by the governors of the states, or by groups of people elected by the state legislature. It varies from state to state. As you can imagine, the beliefs, values, opinions, flavor, and disposition of a board is formed by those that are appointed to those agencies. Different leaders have different ideas and they can influence many people around them so that the resulting medical traditions of one state can vary GREATLY from that of others.
For example, New Orleans is known for food, and jazz, and Nashville is known for country music, Detroit is known for automobiles, and Hollywood is known for movies. Why? The nature of a state has everything to do with its leaders of the past. Some leaders had certain ideas that influenced others and gained a following and then, before you know it, there is a tradition and mind set. The very same is true for the practice of medicine.
What is legal in some states is not legal in others! Did you know that there are many states in the country where it is not legal for naturopathic doctors to practice naturopathy? Many of you will not even know what a naturopathic doctor is because you live in states that do not have boards of naturopathic medicine. A naturopathic doctor is licensed to use natural substances like herbs, minerals, nutrients, hormones, and the like to treat medical problems. They go to 4 years of medical school like medical doctors do, learning all about anatomy and physiology AND herbs, and nutrition. The U.S. Naturopathic medical schools are in Oregon, Washington State, Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois. Currently, 16 states and the District of Columbia license doctors to practice naturopathic medicine.
Interestingly, the same state can license allopathic doctors (MD’s) and naturopathic doctors (ND’s). However, the naturopathic doctors are regulated by the naturopathic board according to naturopathic principles, while the allopathic doctors are regulated by the allopathic board according to allopathic principles, or traditions. These sets of principles and practices can be vastly different. As it turns out, what might be legal for an ND to do might be illegal (against the MD board’s policy) for an MD to do, and vice versa. There are many MD’s that wish they could practice according to the guidelines that some ND’s are allowed to follow but they can’t because the traditions of the medical boards in their states have gone in other directions. As with any difference of opinions, both sides feel they have very good reasons for looking at things the way they do.
But it’s fascinating that in certain areas of the country there are methodologies of medicine that are used every day and have been for decades, that aren’t even heard of by, much less available to, people that live in other parts of the country. There may be some modalities and approaches out there that you might find very interesting and might be excited to try but that are simply not available to you in your state. Your doctors may act like what they are telling you is all there is, but that may not be the case, not by a long shot.
Best regards,
Denis Wilson, MD
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