LAUSR

Abstract Introduction Legislation for traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) over the years has come a long way in Portugal. From the first Act in 2003, the biggest hurdle overcome in 2013 to the latest ordinance in 2019, much has changed and not without controversy. Arguments shall be presented in favour of creating a more centralized model of legislation that could homogenize the adaptation of T&CM throughout Europe given its increasing use by the population and share how challenging the process has been in Portugal. Methods This article looks briefly at the process of legislating these professions in Portugal over the years, how the said legislation has changed and the impact it has had on professionals, students and the professional training institutions who have been teaching traditional and complementary medicine. Results Many challenges have presented themselves since the first Act in 2003, with a lot of turbulence and uncertainty along the way for all parties involved. Retrospective analysis shows many advances have been made to regulate these therapies in Portugal, yet many more questions arise as to how things could have been different. Conclusions The example of the legislative process in Portugal is one that should be scrutinized by professionals and legislators of other nations looking to make regulatory changes for traditional and complementary therapies, both in terms of advances and its pitfalls. The authors present an opinion in favour of a more homogenized and centralized process for legislating T&CM at a European level in order to avoid the obstacles encountered in Portugal, which hopefully would quickly lead to better regulation, patient safety, practice standards, research and would protect the professionals themselves.