Decision made - Medical Chamber strikes Homoeopathy further education in South-West
In Baden-Württemberg, the further education for Homeopathy will be struck down according to the will of the State Medical Chamber. This was decided by the Representative Assembly of the Chamber. The debate on this topic had been heated for two years. In July 2022, the Representative Assembly had already voted in favor of removing the supplementary qualification "Homeopathy" from the further education ordinance in Baden-Württemberg. Social Minister Manfred Lucha (Greens) called this "the absolutely wrong signal."
Supplementary further education are special qualifications and generally do not set a prerequisite for diagnosis and therapy, as it now says in a message from the Medical Chamber. The further education in Homeopathy should no longer be offered. However, the Social Ministry must first check if all formal requirements have been met. A proportionality check of the Chamber had previously raised no concerns.
The treatment of female patients and male patients in Baden-Württemberg with homeopathic methods and means will neither be restricted nor banned, emphasized the Chamber. Doctors who have already completed the further education or are still in the process, will not be affected by the change.
The further education in Homeopathy existed besides in Baden-Württemberg only still in Saxony and Rhineland-Palatinate. The Federal Medical Chamber had also spoken out for the deletion in 2022.
Lucha was against the abolition. Baden-Württemberg is the land of natural healing and Homeopathy is an important part of health care for many people, he said.
However, the effectiveness of Homeopathy is controversial. These medicines are usually made from plant, mineral or animal substances. Then they are prepared according to certain rules - sometimes for a long time, until the preparations no longer contain any active ingredient. There are no scientific evidence so far that Homeopathy works, it was stated in the proportionality check of the Chamber.
In response to the decision, Green Party politician Manfred Lucha, the Social Minister in Baden-Württemberg, expressed his disagreement, viewing Homeopathy as an integral part of natural healing and healthcare in the region. Despite the opposition, the further education in Homeopathy will be abolished, affecting only the supplementary qualification, as the Medical Chamber in Stuttgart has determined. This decision follows a heated debate that spanned over two years, with the Representative Assembly of the Chamber voting in favor of the change in July 2022. Despite the removal of Homeopathy from the further education ordinance, the use of homeopathic methods in the treatment of patients in Baden-Württemberg will not be restricted or banned.
