AM I THE RIGHT DOCTOR FOR YOU?
So you are interested in working with me…
My name is Carrie Louise Daenell, ND. I am a Naturopathic Doctor. I am licensed in the state of Washington as a primary care physician, license #00000910. I conducted my pre-medical studies at the University of Colorado, in Boulder, and completed my doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine at Bastyr University in Seattle, WA.
It is important to me that if we are to work together, that we are a “best fit” for one another. For that reason I would encourage you to speak briefly on the telephone with me, prior to your appointment, in order to make certain that your health goals fall within my areas of expertise, experience and passion in natural medicine. If for any reason that is not the case, I would be happy to make a more appropriate referral for you. Please read the following notes on “what to expect when working together”. They answer just about every question I have ever received prior to working with someone on their health goals. In this manner you can make a more informed decision about my being the “best fit” for you. Should we both agree… we will move forward!
What can I expect, financially and logistically, when working with you?
Your initial consultation of 90 minutes will be provided for $350. Follow-up consultations of 20-30 minutes will be provided for $200. If you are certain that your follow-up consultation will require extensive work that will exceed the 30 minute visit, I am happy to work with you in an extended manner. Please make arrangements ahead of time, with the front desk, in order to respect the time of those who are scheduled after you.
Does Insurance Cover the Cost of Your Care?
My office does not process any type of insurance, nor is the work I do intended to be processed by insurance companies for reimbursement. I accept cash, checks, Visa, Master Card & Discover. I am unable to process American Express. Flexible spending plans and medical savings accounts frequently reimburse for the cost of my care and for the nutritional supplements that come from my office. I am happy to support you with any necessary letter or documentation to help with your reimbursement from these eligible programs.
Can you serve as my Primary Care Doctor?
I do not carry pagers, and do not practice "acute care." I practice as wellness consultants, and all of my patients retain MDs or DOs as their primary care providers, as I do not provide primary care. I work with people on a longer-term basis to correct the underlying cause of their health challenges, and never handle any type of emergencies. I do not perform pap and pelvic exams, school physicals and do not see colds, earaches, etc., on an acute basis as they arise. I see patients once per month in the beginning of our working relationship, in order to give fair time to the changes that patients might experience in accordance with the therapies that they are employing. More time may lapse in between visits, thereafter. Usually no less time lapses between visits, as I like to give ample time for change to occur, and therefore allow the patient to give me thorough feedback on what we are doing so that I can make any necessary adjustments.
Is there any additional expense that I should be aware of when investing in my health through this practice?
The biggest investment you will make, are the nutritional supplements that you will use in order to support your healing. Supplements can be a substantial investment, it seems, regardless of quality or potency. As a raw materials and formulation expert, in the industry, I take great care, and am able through my education, experience and expertise, to discern quality, potency, intelligent formulations, bioavailability and the standards met by the manufacturing facilities.
What makes the nutritional supplements in your practice exceptional?
I use practitioner supplements lines, some of which are exclusive to my practice, that “are what they say they are, nothing more nothing less” - and that are designed to be potent and therefore recommended and supported by practitioners. The companies that manufacture these nutritional supplements were created by doctors like us for doctors like us that "know the difference" and they cater to our particular, critical and demanding standards. There are a wide variety of raw materials and various forms of “the same” nutrients available in this growing market. Some forms are much better absorbed and much better utilized in the body than other forms. It is not a light topic. Knowing these differences, and providing these better forms and formulas is part of my obsession with providing you with the “best of the best” in guidance and quality “tools” in order to support your healing goals. These manufacturing facilities may voluntarily meet GMP or FDA Drug Registered standards for manufacturing. Further, these lines often make available substances and formulas that only doctors like us know how to use and can take the time to educate people with regard to their use. Therefore they would not be found in any version in the over-the-counter market. Accordingly I am able to use quality, potent materials put together in intelligent formulas that produce dramatic results for people working to improve their health. This is vital to the success of my patients, which I take very seriously. I do not engage in the use or sale of multi-level marketed supplements and have no future plans for doing so. If your interest lies within that arena, I am not the doctor for you.
Do you use “one of those machines” to figure out what is going on with me?
I use my extensive education and training and sometimes "conventional" laboratory work in order to make assessments regarding someone's path to healing. I do not have any “magic machines” for "diagnosing" that I use on every patient that walks in the door. I find that a doctor with strong training is rarely interested in such machines, and that the appeal of the machines, beyond helping a practitioner past their lack of training, is their marketing appeal. This type of work, therefore, is outside of my value system. Over the years, I have reviewed every type of machine that I have been exposed to. To date, I am not impressed. I am certain that practitioners that use these methods do fine work. I do not think that they are harmful, per se, I simply do not find them necessary. Some of them, additionally, are quite expensive.
What is a Naturopathic Doctor and what level of care do you provide in your practice?
Naturopathic Doctors are trained to do primary care, including minor surgery and the use of prescription medicines - and in areas that include: physical medicine, counseling, homeopathy, herbal medicine and nutrition. We, as a profession, use physiotherapy, osseous manipulation, psychological counseling techniques, dietary changes, vitamins, minerals, herbs, glandulars and homeopathy. Not all Naturopathic Doctors employ all of these modalities. I practice as wellness consultants and not as primary care providers. I use vitamins, minerals, herbs, glandulars, homeopathy, bio-identical hormones packaged for over-the-counter sale along with lifestyle and dietary recommendations in order to facilitate health changes. I do not provide psychological counseling, physiotherapy, massage or osseous manipulation, or prescription medications in my practice.
What about the education and licensing of a Naturopathic Doctor “ND”?
Our profession’s education can be completed in no less than 8 years. (I devoted 10 years to my education as I added an extra year of math and physics, and an extra year of Chinese pathology and diagnosis.) Accordingly, those enrolling in such programs are eligible, upon graduation, to sit for state department of health licensing exams. The WA state basic medical science and clinical board exams (The exams I took, and where I hold an active primary care license) involve four 8 hour days of testing, and licenses the Naturopathic Doctor that passes these exams as a primary care family physician. The Naturopathic Doctor therefore has prescriptive authority and the right to do out-patient minor surgery and all aspects of out patient family medicine as any primary care physician would. Naturopathic Doctors are licensed as primary care physicians in 14 states, 2 territories and Washington, DC. Colorado is not one of the states that licenses or regulates this profession. In the states that do license the profession, the law is clear…either a person pursued and accomplished the education or they did not. They hold a license or they do not. Creatively educated people cannot legally call themselves Naturopathic Doctors or “NDs” in these licensed states. (It would be like calling yourself an MD, without having gone to medical school, but having learned about medicine in some other capacity. Doing so is not legal.) In CO (as in many states), however, Naturopathic Doctors are not licensed or regulated, therefore there are many creatively educated people using the term “Naturopathic Doctor” or "ND" to describe the work that they do. Some went through the vigorous and thorough Naturopathic medical education and testing that I did, others did not. The accredited four-year Naturopathic medical programs are as follows:
National College of Naturopathic Medicine
Bastyr University
Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine
Bridgeport University
Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine
Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine
National University of Health Sciences
More information can be found on the website for the American Association of Naturopathic Medicine at: www.Naturopathic.org and at http://www.aanmc.org. I hope this brings clarity to any education, training and practice style questions that you may have. Please feel free to contact me, or the front desk, with further questions with regard to the possibility of our working together. It is important to me that you have those questions answered and that we both make the important decision to work together in an informed manner. Should we embark on this journey of healing together, it will be an honor to do my best work for you.
Yours in health,
Carrie Louise Daenell, ND
CLD@DrDaenell.com
www.DrDaenell.com
