[The Münsteraner Memorandum on Alternative Practitioners - Analysis and evaluation of critical commentaries].

With its "Münsteraner Memorandum on Alternative Practitioners" the author collective "Münsteraner Kreis" has recently criticized current German double standards for physicians versus alternative practitioners with regard to minimal competency and to quality assurance. The authors' main goal was to attract attention to the problem and to provide systematic arguments in favor of a healthcare system that is serving patients' needs more appropriately. Reactions to the Memorandum were numerous, divergent in their evaluations, often constructive, and frequently emotionally heated. Here, we collect, analyse and evaluate only the critical voices in order to sharpen the positions presented in the Memorandum, upgrade them if necessary, and identify areas in need of further research. For greater clarity, we standardize the objections, sort them into categories, subject them to theoretical and empirical plausibility analysis, and discuss their significance for the positions we have adopted.