European Coalition on
Homeopathic & Anthroposophic
Medicinal Products
Launch of EP Interest Group on Integrative Medicine & Health
The European Parliament Interest Group on Integrative Medicine & Health, launched on 7 December, highlights the significant contribution integrative medicine can make to contemporary healthcare challenges.
The online launch event of the European Parliament Interest Group on Integrative Medicine & Health took place on 7 December, with over 700 attendees. It was hosted by MEPs Sirpa Pietikäinen, Michèle Rivasi, Tilly Metz, Eleonora Evi, and Margrete Auken and chaired by Sirpa Pietikäinen.
The Interest Group brings together Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) working to promote integrative medicine and health in all European Parliament public health policy. Integrative medicine combines conventional biomedicine and complementary medicine, focuses on the whole person and considers individuals in their physical, psychological, spiritual, social, and environmental context. This inclusive approach meets the demand of EU citizens for a holistic, patient-centred approach in medicine. An integrative approach to medicine has a significant contribution to make to the contemporary challenges of antimicrobial resistance, the increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases, soaring healthcare costs, and the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. One in two EU citizens uses complementary medicine either alongside or as an alternative to conventional biomedical care. This high demand is not yet reflected in EU or national health policy or provision.
The launch event featured experts from the medical field: Torkel Falkenberg PhD BSc introduced Integrative Medicine and Health and its growing emergence in healthcare; Thomas Breitkreuz MD presented the Competence Network of Integrative Medicine in Baden-Württemberg, introducing best integrative medicine practices in the treatment of cancer patients; and Erik Baars PhD MSc spoke about non-antibiotic treatment of infections and tackling antimicrobial resistance. The launch event can be watched online.
The event was organised by EUROCAM, which provides the secretariat for the Interest Group. EUROCAM unites umbrella organisations of patients, physicians, practitioners and veterinarians in the Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine sector, comprising a broad spectrum of CAM modalities.