Forschung am Robert-Bosch-Krankenhaus

Also in medicine: learning from history

Social networks or loneliness, patient education or ignorance, financial security or poverty: Medical historical research is only slowly beginning to understand the significance these factors have on people's health. Questions raised by the modern health care system can often be better answered when returning to its origins and its development. The Institute for the History of Medicine (IGM) looks at diseases from these very specific aspects. It is especially the patient's perspective that helps the researchers at the IGM to acquire completely new insights - for the benefit of future patients.

Finding answers together

Medical organisations, museums and research institutions, such as the German Medical Association, the Zurich Medical History Museum or the Centre for the History of Medicine at the University of Warwick, value the Institute's experience and high scientific standards. This competence makes it a sought-after cooperation partner for exhibitions, conferences and congresses. Because answers to many questions can only be found together.

Gaining insights from reliable sources

Recognising what is important, gained from the abundance of information, piecing together an overall picture from small details - the Institute for the History of Medicine collects, archives and manages information with care and competence. Its archives store writings and pictures, documents and files, as well as patient letters and medical journals. The archives of the International League of Homeopathic Doctors (LMHI) have also been entrusted to the Institute. In addition, the IGM houses the most internationally-significant library with a focus on the history of homoeopathy and naturopathic medicine. Collecting and preserving: The IGM sees itself as the institutional memory of homoeopathy.