The Scientific Status and Future of the AM Therapies

Dear colleagues, professionals, students and researchers from all medical professions,  

At the beginning of the 21st century, the situation for the therapies in anthroposophic medicine (AM) is becoming increasingly challenging, due to scientific, societal, and healthcare developments. 

The development of Evidence-Based Medicine that started in the nineties of the 20th century has (had) large impact. Due to the increasing important role of science in medicine and society, the access to and acceptance of the AM therapies is challenged by the need for a highly complex and expensive evaluation according to present standards. Citizens/patients increasingly have access to scientific data and science-based recommendations for prevention and treatment that enable well-informed decision-making as part of health- and disease related selfmanagement and shared decision-making. Therefore, prevention and treatment strategies need to be evidence-based. Due to an overall lack of high-quality evidence in combination with formal demands/needs for evidence, AM therapies are currently in many countries threatened.

A second important development is that, at the beginning of the 20th century, there were major differences between conventional medicine and AM. 100 years later, within conventional medicine, there is increasing attention for traditionally AM specific themes, such as: health/resilience promotion, person-centeredness, holistic, multidisciplinary approach in nursing, physiotherapy, art therapy, psychotherapy, pharmaceutical treatment, etcetera.

Against this background, the AM Research Congress 2024 theme is “The scientific status and future of the therapies in anthroposophic medicine”. Central questions that guide the program are for example: 

• What are AM-relevant developments in medicine, society, and research?
• What is the specific value of AM therapies in comparison to current developments regarding prevention and treatment in conventional medicine and TCIH?
• Where do we stand with the AM therapies research?
• Which short-term and long-term research goals do we have?

For the preparatory group  
Prof. Dr. Erik W. Baars    

INFO