The Altea Long COVID Network website provides an overview of conventional and complementary medicine contacts for Long COVID. Affected individuals need to be confident that they are in good hands with a physician or therapist. When it comes to complementary medicine, the quality label of the EMR (ErfahrungsMedizinisches Register) provides this security. Providers who have been awarded this seal of quality have completed a reputable training program, undergo continuous training every year and have their quality checked regularly.
For the EMR quality label, therapists are regularly audited.
A plus: cost absorption by insurers
For patients, treatments by therapists with the EMR quality label have another advantage: Many Swiss insurers use this as a basis for decision-making on the reimbursement of services in the field of complementary and alternative medicine. The chances for insurers to cover the costs of a treatment are therefore increased if the respective therapist is EMR certified.
The EMR certification must be renewed annually.
The EMR quality label
Therapists who offer treatments of experiential medicine (generic term for complementary and alternative medicine as well as other therapeutic areas) can have their qualification assessed and certified by the EMR (ErfahrungsMedizinisches Register). The EMR quality label has been recognized throughout Switzerland since 1999. At the EMR, more than 25,000 therapists are certified for about 200 therapeutic methods and professional qualifications in experiential medicine.
Those who are awarded the EMR quality label undergo a thorough examination. The EMR reviews each registration or application for renewal individually. There is no accreditation of educational providers or continuing education programs, and thus no blanket recognition of therapists. EMR-certified therapists must demonstrate,
- that they have successfully completed training and have extensive professional competencies;
- that they regularly attend continuing education courses;
- that they have a clean criminal record;
- that they have practical experience with patients;
- that they have professional liability insurance with adequate coverage.
The EMR quality label is valid for one year at a time. To renew it, therapists must demonstrate each year that they still meet the EMR quality standard and have completed the required continuing education and training. The EMR quality criteria are continuously developed together with experts and adapted to current developments. In order to ensure patient protection, the EMR has also founded the Ombudsman's Office for Experiential Medicine together with the SPO (Swiss Patients' Organization).
