Dr. Santora is licensed to practice medicine in the state of Arizona. This means that the state considers her a primary care physician that can prescribe medications, order lab work & diagnostic imagining, draw blood, perform I.V. therapy, and is eligible to receive medical insurance payments.
The state of Arizona has licensed Naturopathic physicians since 1935. Only the states of Washington, Connecticut, Oregon, and Hawaii (as a territory) have licensed NDs for longer. Today, a total of 22 states license Naturopathic physicians, with three other states having bills pending in their state legislature. Sadly, this represents only half of the 50 states and slightly less than half the population of the country.
The American Association of Naturopathic Physicians has an excellent set of maps that summarize the laws and regulations controlling Naturopathic physicians in each state. The map below is from their website and shows which states license Naturopathic physicians. The laws governing the practice of Naturopathic medicine differ from state to state, even among states that license Naturopathic NDs. Additional AANP maps give a detailed breakdown of these laws.
