Q: As a practicing naturopathic physician in Connecticut, what are some current restrictions or limitations placed on you by state law?
Dr. Brody: I can’t prescribe anything, so ethically and legally I cannot take anyone off medication or change their doses, even if they are experiencing negative side-effects. They have to go back to the doctor or nurse who prescribed the medication.
Q: Have there been any instances where being unable to prescribe medication has impacted a patient? If so, how would having prescriptive authority have helped?
Dr. Brody: Recently, I had a patient who had a blood sugar of 450 who we had to send to the emergency room. If I could prescribe medication, I could’ve managed the situation and saved the patient from a trip to the emergency room, sending them to a primary care physician instead. I’ve had to tell patients to go to another doctor to get medication, which costs the patient more money because they have to pay for another appointment. The same goes for Lyme disease: if I discover a patient has Lyme disease and they need antibiotics, I have to send them to a primary care doctor to get the prescription, costing them both time and money. This has happened three times this year. I also cannot give an EpiPen injection. If someone has an allergic reaction in my office, I cannot give them the injection. I can guide them, but I cannot touch the EpiPen.
Q: Are there any specific diseases, illnesses, or maladies that are harder to treat because of these state limitations?
Dr. Brody: Lyme disease, unitary tract infections, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis or hyperthyroidism, and Type 2 Diabetes are what come to mind immediately, but there are plenty more.
Q: What, in your experience, is the biggest limitation in your ability to work with patients due to the current Connecticut laws?
Dr. Brody: I am trained as a primary care provider, which is how we prepare students at the University of Bridgeport’s College of Naturopathic Medicine, but we are not primary care providers in the state. Someone who has less training than a naturopathic physician is able to prescribe but we cannot, and others with less medical education have prescriptive authority and a wider scope of practice they can observe.
Q: Dr. Brody, it appears you have been an active member of the Connecticut naturopathic community for quite some time. What are the common issues you hear regarding the current Connecticut laws for naturopathic physicians?
Dr. Brody: The laws are outdated, the last law came out in 1922 and has only been revised once since then. Most, if not all, of the states with laws for naturopathic physicians have updated their laws, with most having prescriptive and injective rights. Some naturopathic physicians don’t want that, but my point of view is that those rights allow us to better serve and advise the patient.
Q: And on a final note, are there any comments you have for Connecticut legislators before the vote on proposed House Bill 5902?
Dr. Brody: We spend four years earning our undergraduate degree in a health or science related field and another four years in medical school. Throughout our time in school, we have stand-alone classes in pharmacology and two years of pharmacology spread out through the rest of the criterium. At this point, we can’t even prescribe some natural medications like fish oil, Vitamin D, B12 or others because we do not have prescriptive authority. Other professionals, including physicians and non-physicians, have less training or none in herb-drug or vitamin-drug interactions. We’re only asking for limited authority so we can take better care of our patients, save people and companies money, and prevent public outbreaks. We have some of the safest records in other states with prescriptive records. It’s not about partisan politics but what’s best for the patient and their right to choose what they want.