The Role of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the Healthcare System: A German Paradox

Abstract

Background: This paper examines a paradox in the German healthcare system: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practices are a major element of medical encounters in Germany. Patients seek them, physicians provide them, and public health insurances pay for them in part. Despite all this, CAM practices are not acknowledged as scientifically valid. Material and Method: I will examine this situation in detail based on 2 ethnographic studies. The first study refers to an attempt to introduce homeopathic education at a German university. The second one is a study in the context of cancer and CAM. These cases are perfect examples of the current power struggles that are impeding the expansion of CAM practices in Germany. Results: The results should be seen from the theoretical angle of the study of science. The conventional method of proving scientific validity is in contradiction to those frameworks in which the impact of CAM might be demonstrated. There are economic interests invested in preventing the integration of CAM into existing scientific structures. However, the current hybridization of CAM with conventional medicine might be a step towards an institutionalized heterogenization of medical practices in Germany. Conclusions: A broader understanding of scientific methods within the CAM community could provide a useful frame for future research. I suggest that the CAM community more actively takes part in the discourse with representatives of conventional medicine and come out of the closet.