Government project: alternative medicine should be done by doctors

The ÖVP-FPÖ government wants to legally impose alternative medicine on the profession of doctor. That brought the "standard" (online edition) yesterday. The pbadage of the law, according to which the exercise of the medical profession includes "any activity based on medical science", must be extended – notably by the addition "… including the complementary medical treatments and alternative ". The Ministry of Health project is being revised, according to the report.

Szekeres: "Heard in the hands of doctors"

Thomas Szekeres, president of the medical badociation, was also quoted: "Alternative medicine exists, it is a fact – and" if, then it belongs to doctors, "said Szekeres. It must be avoided that someone does not receive conventional medical care when they need it. If reform can succeed, we must congratulate ourselves on it. It's about patient safety. Similarly, Alfred Radner, president of the Austrian Medical Law Society: "This would reduce Kurpfuscher's field of action".

"Doubtful license"

Health spokesman Gerald Loacker said the "standard" proposal was "irresponsible and absolutely incomprehensible". This is a "dubious license for the application of esoteric procedures by doctors". By imposing alternative medicine in the law on medicine, the government wanted to "undermine the claim of the insured regarding genuine medical care by defining it as part of the duties of the medical profession".