No. CS/HB 223
Filed under Healthcare.
Naturopathic Medicine ; Creates Board of Naturopathic Medicine within DOH; provides for licensure by examination of naturopathic doctors; provides financial responsibility requirements as condition of licensure for naturopathic doctors; provides that patients are responsible for advising treating health care practitioners about any legend drug, nutrient, or natural medicinal substance that naturopathic doctor has prescribed or recommended to patient; provides for licensure by endorsement of naturopathic doctors.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDCreates a new Board of Naturopathic Medicine inside the Department of Health, with seven members, and a licensed 'naturopathic doctor' credential replacing a chapter that has barred new licenses since 1959.
To get licensed, applicants need a bachelor's degree, an accredited naturopathic doctoral degree, a passing score on a national licensing exam, and a background check. The license excludes prescribing legend drugs, performing surgery, and using general anesthesia.
Unlicensed practice of natural-health methods like herbalism, homeopathy, and traditional Chinese medicine stays legal, as long as the practitioner avoids protected titles such as 'naturopathic doctor' or 'N.D.'
Practicing without a license, or misusing a protected title, becomes a second-degree misdemeanor, replacing a repealed offense that had been ranked among Florida's felonies. Renewal requires 60 hours of continuing education every two years and a fee capped at $1,000.
AIA new seven-member board, made up of four licensed naturopathic doctors, two physicians, and one public member, is created inside the Department of Health to oversee licensing, discipline, and rulemaking for the profession.
AIA person may not practice naturopathic medicine, or call themselves a naturopathic doctor or use the letters N.D. or N.M.D., without a state license. Doing so anyway is now a criminal offense enforced by the Department of Health.
AIThe old offense of practicing naturopathy without a license, which had been ranked in Florida's felony offense-severity chart alongside unlicensed medicine and chiropractic, is repealed outright. The replacement offense in the new licensing law is only a second-degree misdemeanor.
AIThe practice of naturopathic medicine is defined to exclude prescribing legend or prescription drugs (apart from natural substances like vitamin B12), performing surgery, using general or spinal anesthesia, and administering radioactive substances.
AIPeople who are not licensed naturopathic doctors may still practice herbalism, homeopathy, traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, and other natural therapies, as long as they don't use a protected title such as naturopathic doctor.
AITo be licensed as a naturopathic doctor, an applicant must be at least 21 years old, hold a bachelor's degree, complete an accredited naturopathic doctoral program, pass a national licensing exam, and undergo a background check.
AILicensed naturopathic doctors must complete at least 60 hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license, tracked through the state's electronic system, plus pay a renewal fee capped at $1,000.
AIWhen the department goes to court to compel a naturopathic doctor to undergo a mental or physical fitness exam, the doctor may not be named or identified in public court records, and the proceeding must be closed to the public.