Osteopathy Associations Demand Own Professional Law Amid Physiotherapy Staff Shortage
Germany's two largest osteopathy associations are calling for osteopathy to be regulated by its own professional law, citing a significant shortage of physiotherapists.
BERLIN – The German osteopathy associations Verband der Osteopathen Deutschland (VOD) and Bundesverband Osteopathie (BVO) have publicly demanded that osteopathy be regulated by its own professional law. This call comes in response to an analysis by the German Federal Employment Agency highlighting a critical shortage of physiotherapists.
The agency's report indicates that the gap in qualified physiotherapists in Germany has worsened significantly compared to the previous year. On average, a vacant position now remains unfilled for 157 days, with only 31 unemployed physiotherapists available for every 100 open positions.
Both VOD and BVO expressed concern over the situation, noting that it complicates referring patients to physiotherapists who still have available appointment slots. "We see this development with concern, especially as interdisciplinary cooperation becomes increasingly difficult in referring patients to physiotherapists who still have capacity," stated VOD chair Prof. Marina Fuhrmann and BVO chair Georg Schöner.
They argue that the physiotherapy shortage validates their long-standing demand for a separate professional law for osteopathy. "The osteopath legally belongs to be regulated as an osteopath," Fuhrmann and Schöner asserted. They dismissed the idea of integrating osteopathy into physiotherapy training, emphasizing that both are distinct and demanding disciplines. Such integration, they warned, could jeopardize efforts to improve the physiotherapy workforce by diverting trained physiotherapists into osteopathic roles.
The associations urged for immediate measures to strengthen the physiotherapy sector while reiterating that osteopathy requires its own distinct professional legal framework.