Naturopathic Doctors (NDs) are well positioned to take on the care of individuals who do not have access to a General Practitioner (GP) .
In the province of British Columbia, access to healthcare is covered by our Medical Services Plan (MSP). MSP pays for medically required services of physicians and surgeons, and dental or oral surgery performed in a hospital. Throughout the pandemic there has been an increased and sustained demand on our public healthcare system. This has led to physician burnout, making access to MSP covered care for patients more challenging than ever.
At Clementine Natural Health, we often ask our patients “Do you have access to a GP?”. The answer is commonly “no”. The need for primary care at this time is dire. That’s where Naturopathic Doctors come in. NDs have the skill set and experience to perform physical exams, order blood work and prescribe or refill patient prescriptions. NDs have the time to perform a thorough review of medical history and advise the patient on the next best step to be taken (i.e. imaging, bloodwork, referral to urgent care or specialist). If the next steps to be taken are outside of our scope we will let the patient know, to advocate for themselves.
Naturopathic medicine is a form of primary care covered by many extended health benefit plans (i.e. CanadaLife, BlueCross, SunLife, GroupHealth etc.). When individuals do not have extended benefits or exceed their benefit plan they then pay the remaining balance out of pocket.
Here at Clementine Natural Health, we are a team of naturopathic doctors that strive to provide excellent, compassionate, evidence-based care. Each one of us is well trained in general practice with additional areas of special interest.
Have more questions for us? Please give us a call at 604-566-3345 and we would be happy to help.
Dr. Catherine Multari, ND Naturopathic Physician
Clementine Natural Health