New European agreement will bring common standards to osteopathy

In an important step for osteopathic regulation across the Atlantic, the European Committee for Standardisation has issued a new European Standard on Osteopathic Healthcare Provision.

Unlike U.S.-trained DOs, who are fully licensed physicians who graduated from a four-year medical school, European-trained osteopaths typically only provide manual therapy. Requirements and regulations for osteopaths vary by country; the new standard could be the start of the process of developing uniformity across Europe.

Simon Fielding, OBE DO, a consultant with the AOA’s Department of International Affairs, explains that the new standard doesn’t overrule national laws about the practice of osteopathy. However, it does indicate that major European osteopathic groups will work together to develop standards in areas such as professional ethics and essential competencies for clinical practice, education and training.

“The adoption of the new European standard is a major step forward in ensuring common high standards of the provision of osteopathic health care across Europe for the benefit and safety of the public,” Dr. Fielding says. The standard was developed in partnership with the European Federation of Osteopaths (EFO) and the Forum for Osteopathic Regulation in Europe (FORE).

To learn more about osteopathic medicine around the world, find out how Humayun “Hank” Chaudhry, DO, is working to raise international awareness of the profession, or check out the story of how osteopathy crossed the Atlantic.