With 30 years practice experience in Prince George, I'd like to comment on your recent article regarding naturopathic medicine, the provincial drug toxicity crisis and the benefit that naturopathic medicine can offer to vulnerable populations such as those with opioid use disorder.
Given the nearly 700 naturopathic doctors in B.C. who can prescribe and serve their patients on a daily basis throughout BC in a primary care role, this approach, in my opinion, should be used not only for those suffering with opioid or alcohol use disorder but as a model of care during the current primary care crisis.
While “harm reduction” does offer some benefit by using “clean drugs”, there are many other things that should be considered to help people struggling with these diagnoses including lifestyle counselling , botanical medicines (which has been used for hundreds of years), nutritional support, and psychological therapy to address past traumas, to name a few. Naturopathic medicine offers a very comprehensive, evidence-based medical approach that works as both a primary therapy or as adjunctive therapy, depending on the needs of each individual patient. Using “drug therapy” in isolation will never solve the underlining cause of these illnesses.
The time has come for naturopathic medicine to be fully embraced by the ministries of Health, Mental Health and Addictions and the Provincial Health Officer to include naturopathic therapies and principles in a more meaningful way for both the treatment of opioid use disorder but to also include naturopathic physicians as a viable option during the current severe shortage of family doctors in this province and in particular northern BC.
We do not need to bring in doctors and nurses from other countries. We need to better utilize the medical professionals already living in BC. This includes naturopathic physicians but also the approximately 10,000 health care professionals who lost their jobs by standing up for their constitutional rights and yours, and their personal choice to accept or reject a medical procedure. This is another story that needs to be told!
Dr. Robert Van Horlick
Prince George
