Legal status

The legal status of anthroposophic medicine in selected countries

Anthroposophic medicine is practiced in 65 countries worldwide.

The legal status and integration in national health systems varies greatly between countries and is currently strongest in Brazil, Germany and Switzerland. Efforts and successes in obtaining official status in a given country have depended on factors such as government willingness to adopt such regulations, size of anthroposophic practitioner community, time since introduction of anthroposophic medicine in a country, and possibility to practice anthroposophic medicine with or without official recognition.

For example, physicians in most countries can practice anthroposophic medicine under their general physician license even in absence of official recognition of the anthroposophic medicine training.

The availability of anthroposophic medicinal products in a country, on the other hand, depends on appropriate regulation or, in the European Union, on the possibilities given by the European Union Directive 2001/83 EC.

Many anthroposophic substances and manufacturing methods have been integrated into national pharmacopeias, often as homoeopathic substances or manufacturing methods.

AMP’s are distinct from homoeopathic products, even if produced in the same way, as they are developed and used based on the anthroposophic understanding of man and nature.

We present here a paper detailing selection of countries from the Americas, European and Western Pacific WHO regions where anthroposophic medicine has, or is obtaining, a degree of official status. The paper focuses on the legal and official status and does not describe the extension in terms of practitioners, clinics and hospitals which has been described elsewhere.