Osteopathy verdict confirms healing status

Osteopathy: Court verdict confirms medical status

A judgment of late 2008 of the administrative court (VG) Dusseldorf with respect to osteopathy in Germany has now become valid after the application for appeal was withdrawn by the plaintiffs. This confirms that osteopathic therapy is medical science.

A physiotherapist who had learned osteopathy at a private osteopathy school from 1999 to 2005 had sued. He had done so according to criteria of the so-called Federal Association for Osteopathy (BAO) e.V., which states, among other things, that the osteopathy school must include five years or at least 1,350 hours.

The cause of the lawsuit was then that the district government had the physiotherapist after a press report on his osteopathic activity, this prohibited. The physiotherapist countered - with reference to the training and examination regulations of the BAO.

That rejected the court. Accordingly, it is a medicine according to § 1 para. 2 Heilpraktikergesetz (HeilprG). The § 1 para. 1 of the HeilprG states that permission is required for those who wish to practice medicine without being appointed as a doctor. This medical knowledge is a prerequisite, because a treatment could cause damage to health.

Observers see in the now valid judgment a weakening of the osteopathic institution BAO and suspect in future a turn to an independent profession of the osteopath over a special, especially for the osteopath created medical practitioner examination.

Literally, the court said: „Any review that seeks to determine whether the pursuit of medical practice by the claimant poses a risk to the health of the population should be limited to reviewing the knowledge and skills necessary to properly perform the specific job planned.“

In Hesse, there is already the further education and examination regulations in the field of osteopathy (WPO) issued by the local Ministry of Social Affairs. It states that masseurs, physiotherapists and medical bath attendants may obtain permission to work as osteopaths if they are resident or have an employment relationship in the state of Hesse. (tf, 23.10.2010)

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