Multiprofessional concepts and therapy recommendations forleading symptoms/topics: The CARE- and editorial process

Anthroposophic Medicine

Anthroposophic Medicine is a multiprofessional, integratively oriented therapeutic system (1, 2). In diagnosis and therapy, it is oriented toward an understanding of the human being that encompasses not only his or her body, but also his or her living, mental, and spiritual being. The professional groups of

• physicians
• nurses
• body therapists
• eurythmy therapists
• art therapists
• psychotherapists
• chaplains and spiritual care experts  

work together in patient care in hospital and outpatient medicine and define the respective therapeutic profile.

The CARE-process

The development of the system of Anthroposophic Medicine (3, p. 57) consists of individual and multiprofessional cooperation for the development of preventive and therapeutic concepts for common symptoms or diseases that have so far been unsatisfactorily treatable by therapy and for problems that have been unsatisfactorily solved. These concepts are intended as a contribution to integrative medical care, including educational concepts. They want to be understandable, communicable, implementable in practice and clinic and scientifically evaluable.

Multi-professional collaboration takes place within the CARE process in international working groups. These working groups are based on a common methodology:

• Content-related conceptual work on topics in medicine relevant to care.
• Collection and discussion of best practice in anthroposophic medicine, taking into account the best available evidence. In doing so, the perspectives and levels of perception of the different professional groups against the background of a common image of the human being are to be used to gain a deeper insight into the respective clinical picture or problem and to discuss and develop therapeutic procedures.
• The recommendations on medicinal therapy are based on personal expertise, on the Vademecum Anthroposophic Medicine (4) with the Vademecum process described there (5), on the results of studies and on the teaching material of Anthroposophic Medicine. The recommendations for anthroposophic nursing follow according to the Nursing Vademecum (6). The other therapies, such as body therapy, eurythmy therapy, art therapy and psychotherapy, are based on individual expertise, the recommendations of the professional associations and the studies currently available.
• The professional group-specific therapies are jointly discussed and further developed against the background of the anthroposophical understanding of disease and therapy needs.

The efficacy, effectiveness and safety of anthroposophic medicine and some of its therapies, such as mistletoe therapy, eurythmy therapy, oil dispersion baths and others, have been evaluated in various systematic reviews and in a Health Technology Assessment Report: https://medsektion-goetheanum.org/forschung/system-assessment-reviews-research-methods/systematic-assessments-overviews .

The editorial process 

• The multi-professional and internationally composed working groups have the opportunity to obtain the expertise of external experts. The scientific and international advisory board is intended for this purpose, to which patient representatives are also invited. (See also: https://www.anthromedics.org/ueber_uns )
• The results of the working groups can be viewed by anthroposophically experienced therapists via an electronic cloud system. Comments from colleagues worldwide are sent to, edited by, and incorporated into the CARE groups.
• An editorial process by expert editors and proofreaders follows.
• After text approval by the Editorial Board, the work results are published on Anthromedics.org for the independent use of physicians and therapists.
• The publications will be reevaluated and further developed.