Therapies with natural remedies in medical education and continuing medical education and in the medical care practice

Aim The aim was to determine the extent to which "therapies with natural remedies" are taught in initial and continuing medical education and to present the implementation of these therapies in medical care practice. Methods A structured research as well as a survey with medical specialists was conducted. Results The therapies are part of initial medical education. They are included in one specialist training and seven additional specialty trainings in continuing education. The majority of the physicians interviewed offer these therapies to their patients. More than 65 % stated that they consider the therapies to be relevant. Reasons against completing respective continuing education were their cost/duration. As reasons to engage in it they stated their own interest and the high demand by patients. Conclusion In order to improve the quality of care, more transparency and a possible reorganization of the continuing education systems should be discussed.