부산대학교 도서관

Summary: In Germany, the abolition of the alternative healer and alternative healing concepts is currently being intensively discussed. The aim of this contribution is to inform about the arguments put forward and to intensify the debate within family practice.The consensus between the two authors is that all procedures reimbursed by statutory health insurance should correspond equally to the “generally acknowledged state of medical knowledge”. Patients who use alternative healing would therefore have to pay for it themselves as long as there is no proof of efficacy for the procedure in question. The implementation of this demand is difficult as alternative healing is very popular: in the population, in political parties, with health insurance companies and in the medical profession.There is dissent between the two authors with regard to simplifying attributions without scientific evidence, e.g. that patients see them as state-certified healers equivalent to doctors due to the state recognition of alternative healers. Furthermore it is still controversial how easily patients can understand a concealed placebo use. Finally, there are differing views on the consequences of abolishing the profession of alternative healers – if politically possible at all.