Montenegro

Go directly to legislation of specific CAM therapies in Montenegro:
Acupuncture – Anthroposophic medicine – Ayurveda – Chiropractic – Herbal medicine/Phytotherapy – Homeopathy – Massage – Naprapathy – Naturopathy – Neural therapy – Osteopathy – Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) – Other treatments

Following the dissolution of former Yugoslavia Montenegro became an independent state in 2006, recognized by the EU Member States the same year. Montenegro submitted an application for EU membership on 15 December 2008. From 17 December 2010 the European Union granted Montenegro the official status of candidate country (11).

Montenegro is connected to the FP7 research programme through a memorandum of understanding and as such included in the CAMbrella survey of CAM legislation in Europe. As Serbia and Montenegro was in a union from 2003-2006 some of the documents found in our survey include both countries. Montenegro became 11 May 2007 a member of the Council of Europe (12).

The legal and regulatory status of CAM and CAM practices

Montenegro currently (April 2012) has no CAM laws or regulations. The Ministry of Health of Montenegro confirmed in a meeting with NAFKAM in October 2011 that establishing a national CAM law and regulations of CAM practices is in progress. The work is attended to by a comprehensive compounded governmental committee.

How to regulate conventional health professionals who practise CAM is mostly clarified, the inconclusive part of the work is how to regulate non-medical CAM providers. It seems that the legislation will follow the tradition of “all-regulating”, which means that all types of CAM treatments allowed to practise will be defined in the new law. Montenegro has no formal CAM education at University level. There are CAM training programmes offered in cooperation with CAM associations and MOH.

According to the master plan of healthcare development for 2010-2013 (213) the healthcare regulation is based on Law on Health Care and Law on Health Insurance from 2004. The health policy introduces the principle of integrated and interdisciplinary care and transition from structurally-based to process-based health care. The health care system of Montenegro will be developed with national values and strategies. At the same time health is a priority task in defining and implementing all policies and activities of the EU (213).

We found no professions in Montenegro registered in the EU regulated professions database according to DIRECTIVE 2005/36/EC (5). We were informed that introducing CAM chambers and professional bodies could be a way of undertaking the role of quality and safety. According to the master plan of healthcare “Traditional treatment under surveillance is an additional opportunity for a patient, if so decided” (213).

The governmental supervision of CAM Practices

As CAM practitioners are not regulated professions there is no supervision of CAM practices.

The reimbursement status of CAM practices and medicinal products

As CAM is not regulated there is no reimbursement of CAM treatment in Montenegro.