[ CAF Note: This article is republished from The Present Age a monthly magazine published by Thomas Meyer's Perseus Publishing. It offers profound insights on the nature of our bodies and souls and the nature of life itself. A special thank you to Thomas and the amazing insights he regularly provides to his Present Age subscribers and to Solari Report subscribers.]
A Lecture by Dr. Zoltán Schermann
My lecture is based on an experience I had. For me, it was a very profound one which changed my destiny. What I would like to say is also closely linked to the way in which medicine is practiced in Holland. I will therefore speak about it in detail. This is also necessary to understand certain events correctly.
A case in a general practitioner’s practice in Holland
The situation occurred in 2007. At that time I was an anthroposophical doctor in a general practitioner’s (GP’s) practice. That does not mean that every patient who came to me was also really interested in anthroposophical medicine. In Holland the GP has a very central role in the doctor’s profession. Every patient has to register with a GP. This also means that the practice is linked to a particular locale, so people register who live in the neighbourhood and simply need a doctor. These mostly expect purely conventional medical treatment.
For medical treatment one first always has to go to a GP. One cannot just go along to a specialist without being re- ferred by a GP. However, GPs refer patients quite quickly. There are of course well-organised emergency services in hospitals where one is treated in emergencies, but in gener- al, when you need a doctor’s help, you first go to a GP. The GP has this central role not only for seriously ill people, but he or she also has the main responsibility for palliative care.
The organisational structure of the GP’s practice in Holland is comparable with that in Germany. In the case of private practice, however, one can accept patients who are not registered. They are mostly people who are interested in anthroposophical medicine.
The case I would like to describe concerns a woman who was 67 years old at the time. She was registered in my practice and I had known her for many years. Actually, she didn’t come to me because of anthroposophical medicine. The patient had various problems, but repeated examina- tions had always had no results, so she was disappointed by conventional medicine and didn’t feel that the specialists took her seriously. She was gaunt and always very pale, but vital and energetic. The confidentiality in our relationship to die. I shall come back to that. First, I’d like to outline the situation in Holland and in what situations one can find oneself as a GP.
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