Interview with Jason Porter NMD

Jason Porter NMD is my guest today. He practices at East Valley Naturopathic Doctors.

Margaret: Dr. Porter, what caused you to choose to become an NMD rather than an MD or DO?

Dr. Porter: I chose to become a NMD because I knew from prior experience how effective lifestyle changes could be on any health condition. It seemed to me that most doctors were ignoring the simple things and were more ready to prescribe a medication than a lifestyle recommendation. I wanted people to be healthier and better off long term from what information I gave them. I felt alternative medicine would do that that better.

Margaret: What is the Difference between an NMD and an ND?

Dr. Porter: There is technically no difference between NMD and ND. In some states a licensed Naturopathic Physician may call himself a Naturopathic Medical Doctor (NMD). There are states where licensing for ND is not available and certain groups who are not trained in a four year accredited program will call themselves ND’s.

Margaret: There are family doctors or Primary Care Physicians and numerous specialties in traditional medicine, What are the specialties in Naturopathy?

Dr. Porter: Naturopathic Medical Schools train doctors as Primary Care Physicians. The increasing rate of information, knowledge and complexity of disease can inhibit Naturopathic Doctors from staying current on every disease and optimal treatments. Many doctors do specialize in certain areas to the benefit of their patients. The are no specific designations so doctors are able to choose any variety of specialties in Naturopathic medicine they would like to treat.

Margaret: What is your specialty?

Dr. Porter: I am a Primary Care Physician, but I do specialize in chronic pain including musculoskeletal dysfunction and autoimmune disease. I also have an increasing interest in helping cancer patients properly use alternative medicine with standard oncology protocols.

Margaret: What types of cancer patients do you treat?

Dr. Porter: I do treat patients with cancer. There is currently so single cure for cancer in the allopathic or naturopathic communities. A significant amount of research has proven the benefit of applying Natural Medicine while doing surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation for cancer patients. Quality of life and life expectancy improve. We need to better support cancer patients as they battle this serious disease.

Margaret: Please explain your philosophy or approach to patient care.

Dr. Porter: My philosophy for patient care is summarized by the fact that the body has innate power to heal itself. My goal in working with a patient is to determine what things are missing to allow optimal functioning and to help a patient eliminate those things which stand as obstacles in their path of healing. The body can do amazing things in a very short period of time if we just do the right things and get out of the way.

Margaret: Do you treat pediatric patients in your practice?

Dr. Porter: I have children myself and have treated them using Natural Medicine from birth. I now have an excellent Naturopathic Physician in our office who I send my family to for treatment. She is up on the current protocols and leading treatments and does a fabulous job with the kids.

Margaret: Under what set of circumstances would your refer to a specialist and what kind. Are you aware of any MD’s or Do’s who refer patients to you?

Dr. Porter: We work with many MD’s and DO’s for health conditions. We understand their language and as they get to know what we do they understand our strengths and know when to refer. Not every physician is open, but we notice an ever increasing trend of referrals from non-alternative primary care doctors.

Margaret: What kind of hospital privileges do you have?

Dr. Porter: We do not have any privileges at local hospitals. We have had many allopathic doctors ask why and they are trying to help get us in the doors.

Margaret: Could you please relate one or more of your greatest success stories without divulging confidentiality?

Dr. Porter: My greatest success is still a work in progress. She presented to my office with Rheumatoid Arthritis at age seventeen. The patient was over the next year diagnosed with 4 additional autoimmune conditions each on its own life threatening and causing severe pain. We have brought her condition under control, but it has required weekly IV therapy and Acupuncture for pain. We have learned a great deal about autoimmune conditions as we have learned to effectively treat her. She has reduced her dependence on pain medications by over 70%. She continues to improve each week and will someday be completely free of pain and in remission. Without Natural Medicine there was no hope. She failed to respond to the most aggressive allopathic treatments available for her condition. She will say Natural Medicine has saved her life when no hope was given for recovery.

Margaret: That certainly is amazing. I’m going to take a moment here to define allopathic medicine for my readers. Allopathic medicine is the system of medical practice which treats disease by the use of remedies which produce effects different from those produced by the disease under treatment. MDs practice allopathic medicine. It is also called conventional medicine.

Hopefully the physicians who practice different approaches to healing will overcome their reluctance to see the good that each system can offer and come together to help the patient as you have related you have been able to do in some cases.

Which naturopathic services that you provide are covered by insurance?

Dr. Porter: We are considered Out-of-Network physicians. Insurance reimburses according to each patients benefit package.

Margaret: How do you assist patients in submitting their insurance claims?

Dr. Porter: Our office specializes in submitting claims to insurance companies for reimbursement and we are one of the only ones to do that currently.

Margaret: That sure is true. I’ve been examined and treated by other naturopaths where I was given a copy of the superbill and told I could use to submit for reimbursement. This can be a very frustrating factor for patients. I’m so glad you help with this. Thank you so much for visiting with me today Dr. Porter.