In a thought-provoking article titled Herbal Medicine Use in the UK and Germany and Pharmacy Practice – A Commentary, King’s CICM Honorary Advisors Prof Michael Heinrich (UCL), Dr Sukvinder Kaur Bhamra (University of Kent), and their British and German co-authors put the spotlight on the markedly different systems for herbal medicine regulation and practice in European countries such as Germany and the UK.
Meanwhile, thousands of herbal medicinal products have been approved by the European Medicines Agency as legal medicinal products across Europe (EMA report).
🇩🇪 In Germany:
✅ Herbal medicines are widely integrated into medical and pharmacy education.
✅ Doctors regularly prescribe them, and pharmacies dispense them with confidence.
✅ Patients receive informed advice as part of standard care.
🇬🇧 In contrast, the UK:
❌ Medical and pharmacy curricula largely lack content on herbal medicine.
❌ Herbal medicines are rarely prescribed by doctors or distributed via pharmacies.
⚠️ Most doctors and pharmacists are not sufficiently knowledgeable to advise patients appropriately on herbal use.
So here is our question for educators, policymakers and healthcare leaders:
🏛️ What should the future look like for medical and pharmacy education in the UK?
🏛️ And could King’s College London play a role in shaping that future?
Let’s start the conversation. 👇
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