Political Forum & Polit Panel

Purpose of the Forum: The Forum aims to explore how chiropractic care can be effectively and safely integrated within Europe’s national health systems — not only as a clinical question, but as a policy, organizational, and cultural one. It will examine the intersection of evidence, governance, and political will, and invite discussion on what models of integration best serve public health and patient access.

Focus: Set the stage for a policy-level discussion (beyond cost/utilization data) and frame integration as a governance and values-based issue. Outline the ECU 2025–2029 strategy (standards, collaboration, accountability) and shift the debate from “whether” to “how”.

Health policy perspective: Effective advocacy for the inclusion of musculoskeletal rehabilitation in national health systems?

Rehabilitation and Chiropractic: Deepen understanding of this “silent pandemic” and explore integrative approaches to reduce its burden on individuals and health systems.

Public health perspective: The scale of musculoskeletal conditions, their societal cost, and the need for first-line conservative care options (Switzerland focus).

Political perspective: Treatment of musculoskeletal disorders in Switzerland and the integration of chiropractic care (discussion / input points).

Session objective:
The objective of this discussion is to explore how European chiropractic education and accreditation can evolve to meet future healthcare integration needs, reflecting the ECU Strategy 2025–2029.

Focus of the ECU Opening:

• Link to previous Forum on Integration: education as the foundation for system trust.
• Emphasize the ECU Strategy 2025-2029 as a framework for future educational standards.
• Highlight partnership between ECU, ECCE, and educators as essential for coherence, credibility, continuity
• Invite debate on the competencies and accreditation mechanisms that will prepare chiropractic for integration into national health systems by 2030-2034.

Change of curriculum – evolving example HSU: Challenges, milestones and opportunities of a new approach.

Difficulties accrediting evolving curricula.

Accrediting evolving curricula presents a significant challenge for the ECCE, as it must balance the assurance of consistent, Europe-wide core competencies with the need to support innovation. Rapid advances in scientific evidence, technology, and patient-centered care require curricula to remain flexible, while accreditation processes depend on stable standards and clearly defined benchmarks. This can create procedural delays in which innovative programs appear non-compliant with standards that have not yet been updated. Differences in national educational and regulatory frameworks further complicate alignment between local adaptations and ECCE’s transnational requirements. As a result, the ECCE must continuously update its standards to safeguard educational quality while enabling responsible advancement of the profession.