Osteopathy in Belgium
In Belgium the practice of osteopathy dates back to the 1960's-70.
The first osteopaths were trained in Great Britain at the European School of Osteopathy. The first practitioners created the Société Belge d'Ostéopathie et de Recherche en Thérapie Manuelle (Belgian Society of Osteopathy and Society for Research into Manipulative Therapy) in 1975.
In the same period, similar schools were created in France and later in Belgium. These osteopaths created the Association Belge des Ostéopathes (Belgian Association of Osteopaths).
During the States-General Osteopathy organised in Louvain-La-Neuve on the 16th of September 1986, these two associations merge to become the Belgian society of osteopathy, professional union (SBO-BVO) .
The Conseil d'Etat (the Highest Administrative Court of Justice in Belgium) recognised the society as a Professional Union on the 26th of May 1993. On the 12th of March 1996, Minister Pinxten appointed the SBO-BVO - UP as representative of the osteopaths to the consultative organs of the Ministry of Middle Classes.
In its plenary session of the 29th of May 1997, the European Parliament asked the Commission to embark on the process of recognising non-conventional medicine, among which Osteopathy.
At the end of August 1997, following the resolution voted by the European Parliament and to answer our desire to regulate the osteopathic profession, Minister of Public Health Marcel Colla decided to gather the different professions in order to grant them a status: osteopathy, homeopathy, chiropractic and acupuncture.
Immediately after the adoption by the Senate of the Draft Bill of the Minister of Public Health Marcel Colla (socialist) on the 22th of April 1999, the SBO-BVO asked to be registered as a representative organisation in the Joint Committee and in the "Chambre d'Ostéopathie" (Chamber of Osteopathy).
In May 1999, the Fédération des Mutualités Socialistes (Federation of Socialist Mutual Insurances) publicly announced that their additional insurance policy would include a partial refund of osteopathic fees. Other Mutual Insurances would line up later on with this decision.
In 2000, Minister of Public Health, Magda Aelvoet decided to make a first step towards the recognition of certain professional organisations of homeopathy, acupuncture, osteopathy, chiropractic so that the Authorities would finally have real discussion grounds for negotiations.
Jef Taverniers succeeded Magda Alvoet and recognised the Professional Unions, among which the SBO-BVO in the Royal Decree of 10 February 2003.
On the 27th of January 2002, Claude Rousseau, DO, (Vice-President of the SBO-BVO and General Secretary of the European Federation of Osteopaths) founded, on the basis of specific criteria in the socio-professional and academic fields, the Groupement National Représentatif des Professionnels de l'Ostéopathie, GNRPO asbl (National Grouping Representative for the Professionals of Osteopathy).
On the 22th of June 2002, the GNRPO represents five recognised Professional Unions.
From 1 January 2003, all the Mutual Insurances of the country referred to the GNRPO listing. This meant that the only patients entitled to partial refund of osteopathic fees were the patients treated by an osteopath DO affiliated in a recognised Professional Union member of the GNRPO.
However, because of the lack of legislation concerning the practice of osteopathy and under the threat of a discrimination complaint, the mutual Insurances are soon forced to accept reimbursement for physiotherapists who perform osteopathic acts.
The statutes of the non-profit organisation, GNRPO asbl, were published at the end of 2003.
In April 2004, the decree of the Minister of Higher Education of the French Community, Mrs Françoise Dupuis gives osteopathy the academic degree of "Complementary Master". The Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) takes the opportunity to open, at the beginning of the academic year 2004- 2005, a specific 1-year course in osteopathy. The course is followed by a six-year training, completed by a diploma in "Complementary Master in Osteopathy".
On the 26th of October 2007, the GNRPO organised the States-General of Osteopathy in Brussels. The participants showed a common desire :
- Osteopathy should be an independent profession (self-employed), complementary in primary health care.
- It should ensue from a university training.
In May 2008, a collective agreement between the professional unions of osteopaths and the Mutual Insurances defines the refund conditions of the fees paid by patients of osteopathic professionals. This condition is to issue to patients an official document given by the mutual Insurances.
The GNRPO officially became a member of the Union Nationale des Professions Libérales et Intellectuelles de Belgique (UNPLIB) (National Union of Liberal and Intellectual Professions of Belgium) in 2008. The GNRPO submitted a request for the protection of the title of osteopath to the Ministry of Middle Classes (Sabine Laruelle).
On the other hand, as the implementing decrees of the Colla Law have not been adopted yet , in May 2008, two osteopathic organisations decided to bring the Belgian State before the law.
In 2009, the Health Minister (L. Onkelinx) requested an audit on osteopathy in Belgium. The Belgian Health Care Knowledge Centre (KCE) is performing this study and the results are expected in 2010.
Despite the condemnation of the State to enforce the Colla law, the legality of the practice of osteopathy, remains uncertain today.
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