Anthroposophic Medicine

 Homepage of the Medical Section at the Goetheanum with information about anthroposophic medicine

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International Federation of Anthroposophical Medical  Associations IVAA

Anthroposophic medicine in brief: Facts and Figures

Distribution of anthroposophic medicine

From its inception in 1920 to the present day, anthroposophic medicine has been able to develop well within the European member states, and has found increasing recognition both amongst the general public and in the academic world, as illustrated by the following data:

Anthroposophic medicinal products are prescribed by approximately 120.000 doctors (General Practitioners and Specialists) in thirteen Member States (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Eire, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom).

Anthroposophic medicine is practised in hospitals, clinics and other in-patients’ facilities in Austria, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK, including teaching hospitals as well as district general hospitals. All specialities are represented, including Internal Medicine, Obstetrics, Psychiatry, Surgery, Intensive Care Units and First Aid Stations, with a total amount of 2.200 beds. Several clinics have recently been classified by WHO-UNICEF as “Baby-Friendly Hospital”.

 

Legal situation

Anthroposophic medicine or anthroposophic medicinal products are legally recognised in the following States: Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, and United Kingdom.

For further information please contact the respective associations.

Anthroposophic medicinal products are also partly recognised by the European Union. A summary table is presented below.

 

Recognition

Anthroposophic medicine is recognised by the general doctors’ associations in the following states:

For further information please contact the respective associations.

 

University

Anthroposophic medicine is taught at universities in Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

For further information please contact the respective associations.

International certificate

International criteria for a certificate as “anthroposophic doctor” have been established by the Conference of the Anthroposophical Medical Associations and came into effect on 18th September 2003. The certificate is issued by the Medical Section of the School of Spiritual Science at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland.

For further information please browse:

 

Research

Research guidelines for the evaluation of the safety and the efficacy of anthroposophic medicine are in process. It is aimed to enlarge evidence based methods by cognition based methods (Kiene 2001). See Fundamental Works in Further Reading.

For general information, please contact the Research Council of the Medical Section at the Goetheanum in Dornach, which is chaired by Dr. Peter Heusser: peter.heusser@goetheanum.ch 

The major research institutes are:

 

Registration of anthroposophical medicinal products

In European Member States where anthroposophic medicine is well integrated in society, the anthroposophical medicinal products can benefit from existing licences and can stay on the national market so far. This is the case in Germany, Austria and the United Kingdom. In some Member States such as the Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium, France, Spain and Italy the national agency for medicinal products for the moment follows a policy of relative tolerance, which can appear in different forms. In future, European legislation and regulatory policy will increasingly replace the national legislation and regulatory policy and is going to create a new situation with threats as well as opportunities for our medicinal products. Threats as far as manufacturers have difficulties to demonstrate and document (in the way regulatory authorities want to have it) the quality, the safety, the effectiveness and the traditional or well-established medical use of the products, opportunities if it is the other way around. In general the future European situation will be easier for homoeopathically manufactured anthroposophic medicinal products than it will be for the non-homoeopathically manufactured ones.

There will be four different procedures to register or authorise an anthroposophic medicinal product:

  1. European simplified registration as homoeopathically manufactured medicinal product (no indications, only oral and external use, dilution higher than 1: 1000; an abbreviated procedure of mutual recognition between Member States is applicable);

  2. national authorisation as homoeopathically manufactured medicinal product
     (all the other homoeopathically manufactured medicinal products and with indications; mutual recognition between Member States will not be possible so far);

  3. national or European registration as traditional herbal medicinal product
    (for herbals having 30 year of tradition, only oral and external use, only minor indications ; an abbreviated mutual recognition will only be possible for single herbals having a monograph drawn up by the EMEA Committee for Herbal Medicinal Products);

  4. European authorisation as medicinal product having a ‘well-established medical use’ (medicinal products for which the applicant can demonstrate a well documented medical use of at least 10 years by means of bibliography, scientific publications, post marketing experience and pharmacovigilance data);

Details of these procedures can be found in the European legislation as published on the website of the European Commission http://pharmacos.eudra.org/F2 or on the website of ECHAMP, the European Coalition on Homeopathic and Anthroposophic Medicinal Products http://www.echamp.org

The evolution from the different tolerant national situations to a more restrictive European situation has started in 1995 with the implementation of the homeopathic directive 92/73/EEC. It is very difficult to give a time estimation of this transition from national legislations to European legislation and regulatory policy, but it will certainly take at least two decades.

 

Summary of the legal situation of anthroposophic medicine in Europe

IVAA - Legal Situation of Anthroposophical Medicine in Europe (17.04.03)        
  A B DK FIN F D GB I SP NL S CH
Anthroposophical Medicine                        
Acknowledged in laws yes no yes yes no yes yes yes no no yes yes
Acknowledged through the general doctors' association yes no no no yes yes yes yes yes no no yes
Acknowledged by the National Institute of Medico-legal affairs yes no no yes no yes yes yes no no no yes
Anthroposophical Doctors Association yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
Doctor's consultation                        
Acknowledged in laws yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
Acknowledged through the general doctors' association yes no no no yes yes yes yes yes yes no yes
Refund by national insurance companies yes yes no yes yes yes yes yes no yes yes yes
Refund by privat insurance companies yes yes no yes yes yes yes yes yes yes no yes
Training for Medical Doctors                        
Introductionary courses for students yes no yes yes yes yes yes yes no yes yes yes
Postgraduate (lectures, courses) yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
Postgraduate part-curriculum yes no no yes yes yes yes yes yes yes no yes
Postgraduate full-curriculum yes no no no yes yes yes yes yes yes no yes
Anthroposophical Therapists                        
Acknowledged in laws no no no no no no no no no no no no
Acknowledged through the particular professional association no no no no no no yes no no no no no
Refund by national insurance companies no no no no no no yes no no yes no no
Refund by privat insurance companies no no no no no yes yes no no yes no yes
Training for therapists (Lectures, courses) no yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
Training for therapists (part) no no no yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
Training for therapists (full) no no no yes no yes yes yes yes yes no yes
Anthroposophic Medical Products                        
Production yes no yes no yes yes yes no yes yes yes yes
Distribution through pharmacies yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes no yes
Distribution other yes yes yes yes no yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
Refund by national insurance companies yes no no no yes yes yes no no yes no yes
Refund by privat insurance companies yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes no yes
Co-operatinon                        
With Health Authorities yes no yes yes yes yes yes yes no yes yes yes
With university medicine yes no no no yes yes yes yes yes no yes yes
With other associations of CAM yes no no yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes

 

 

If you have questions, suggestions or comments regarding the content of these pages, please contact directly the secretary of the Medical Section CH-4143 Dornach, Telephone: +41-61-7064290, Telefax: +41-61-7064291, E-mail: med.sektion@goetheanum.ch. 

This page was updated 08.11.2003.