The Act on the Authorisation of Healthcare Professionals has now been amended, and the Danish Patient Safety Authority (Styrelsen for Patientsikkerhed) may, upon application, issue an authorisation (license) to practise as an osteopath in Denmark, to individuals who have appropriate training in osteopathy in a Danish or comparable foreign education programme.
In the Executive Order No. 981 of 28 June 2018 on the Authorisation of Osteopaths, the Patient Safety Authority has set a number of conditions for the applicants’ education that must be met to grant an authorisation as an osteopath. Requirements define the level, duration and content of the education.
The fact that there is no Danish osteopathic education means that all applicants’ education must be assessed individually, and the Danish Patient Safety Authority established an Advisory Forum for authorisation of Osteopaths – Det rådgivende forum for osteopater – to support this process.
The role of the Advisory Forum is to advise the Danish Patient Safety Authority on matters such as assessing whether individual applicants’ education meets the substantive requirements; assessing foreign education; and, if necessary, to amend Annex 1 to the Order on the Authorisation of Osteopaths.
The Advisory Forum consists of three lawyers from the Patient Safety Authority, one representative each from the Danish Chiropractic Association, Danish Physiotherapists’ Association, the University College Copenhagen, Danske Osteopater, and the EFFO. Meetings of the Forum are presided over by the Patient Safety Authority, and occur quarterly and otherwise as needed.
The Board of EFFO recently appointed Tomas Collin to represent the EFFO in the Advisory Forum. Tomas is Chair of the EFFO Education Working Group, and also President of the Norwegian Osteopathic Association (Norsk Osteopatforbund).