Brussels | March 24, 2021
Anthroposophic doctors actively contribute to the hospital and outpatient care of Covid-19 patients. As fully trained medical doctors, embedded in national health systems, they have developed integrative and patient-centered treatments to complement conventional medical care for patients with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This was the key message demonstrated at today’s webinar on the “The Contribution of Anthroposophic Medicine to the Integrative Treatment of COVID-19 Patients”.
The conference was organised by the International Federation of Anthroposophic Medical Associations (IVAA) and the Medical Section at the Goetheanum, in cooperation with the Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine (AIHM) and invited specialists from the anthroposophic and integrative medicine field to share their experiences.
“With the coronavirus pandemic, the international medical community faces a common challenge, which requires a collaborative response”, noted Dr. Thomas Breitkreuz, President of IVAA and specialist in Integrative Medicine. “The anthroposophic medical approach is integrative in its nature, as it is designed to complement the conventional medical practice. By introducing the patient-centered and holistic perspective into the global discussion, anthroposophic physicians play a significant role in the medical care for COVID-19 patients”.
A central theme put forward by the presenters was how to treat patients during the acute stage of COVID-19, as well as in “long COVID”. Dr. Robert Fitger, specialist in neurology from Clinic Arlesheim in Switzerland, spoke about neurological complications and treatment of long COVID. His contribution was complemented with lessons learned in the outpatient treatment setting, presented by Dr Sheila Grande from her anthroposophic practice in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Dr Denis Koshechkin, an anthroposophic physician in St. Petersburg, Russia. The treatment of COVID-19 patients from the perspective of the anthroposophic hospitals was presented by Dr Friedemann Schad from the Havelhöhe Hospital in Berlin, together with Dr Pieter Wildervanck from Clinic Arlesheim in Switzerland and Dr. Thomas Breitkreuz from the Paracelsus Hospital in Bad Liebenzell, Germany.
“Today’s webinar showed the potential of the international integrative health community to improve patient care, especially in this ever-changing environment of an ongoing pandemic”,concluded Dr. Tabatha Parker from AIHM in her closing remarks.
The webinar on “The Contribution of Anthroposophic Medicine to the Integrative Treatment of COVID-19 Patients” was the official launch of the “Hope, Resilience and Health in the Covid-19 Era” virtual conference series, taking place between March 24th and 27th and hosted by the Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine (AIHM). For more information about the upcoming series, please visit https://aihm.org/.
About IVAA
IVAA, the International Federation of Anthroposophic Medical Associations, promotes the recognition of Anthroposophic Medicine and its implementation in health care systems. www.ivaa.info
About the Medical Section of the Goetheanum
The Medical Section of the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland, is the international center for Anthroposophic Medicine. https://medsektion-goetheanum.org/en
About AIHM
AIHM, the Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine, is a global interprofessional integrative health association working to transform health care – body, mind, spirit, community, and planet. AIHM provides innovative education, interprofessional collaboration, and advocacy that embraces all global healing traditions, to promote the creation of health and the delivery of evidence-informed, affordable and sustainable person-centered care. https://aihm.org/
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Elisa Baldini, Secretary General of IVAA, under elisa.baldini@ivaa.info.
