The Hufeland directory is the catalogue of natural-medicine methods that the Hufeland society publishes and that private insurers such as HanseMerkur and R+V use to decide which natural treatments a tariff covers. It is written for doctors and maps methods to doctors' fee codes; a Heilpraktiker bills by GebüH, not by this directory. You meet it when a patient asks whether the insurer will pay for a method: type the method and see whether it is listed, in which category, and under which GebüH section you usually bill it.
Names and categories from the 8th edition (2020), taken from public insurer lists. Listed means in the directory; whether and how much a tariff pays is the insurer's decision per tariff and per case. The directory's own codes and fees are not reproduced here.
Edition 2020. List checked on 24 October 2026.
| Method | Category | What it is | GebüH section |
|---|---|---|---|
| AcupunctureListed | Acupuncture and TCM | Fine needles set at defined points of the body, from traditional Chinese medicine. | Usually billed under GebüH section "Acupuncture". Open the section |
| Traditional Chinese medicineListed | Acupuncture and TCM | A whole medical system from China that combines acupuncture, moxibustion, herbal remedies, diet and movement exercises. | Usually billed under GebüH section "Acupuncture". Open the section |
| MoxibustionListed | Acupuncture and TCM | Warming acupuncture points by burning dried mugwort close to the skin, part of traditional Chinese medicine. | Usually billed under GebüH section "Acupuncture". Open the section |
| Electroacupuncture according to VollListed | Acupuncture and TCM | Measuring the skin's electrical resistance at acupuncture points with a low current, named after the doctor Reinhold Voll. | Usually billed under GebüH section "Acupuncture". Open the section |
| HomeopathyListed | Homeopathy | Treatment with highly diluted remedies chosen by the similarity principle, as single remedies or in complex preparations. | Usually billed under GebüH section "General services". Open the section |
| Antihomotoxic medicineListed | Homeopathy | A form of homeopathy that works with combination remedies, based on the homotoxicology model of Hans-Heinrich Reckeweg. | Usually billed under GebüH section "General services". Open the section |
| Tissue salt therapy according to SchuesslerListed | Homeopathy | Twelve mineral salts in homeopathic dilution, following the doctor Wilhelm Heinrich Schuessler. | Usually billed under GebüH section "General services". Open the section |
| Spagyric medicineListed | Homeopathy | Plant remedies made by fermenting, distilling and ashing, an old method from alchemy. | Usually billed under GebüH section "General services". Open the section |
| IsopathyListed | Homeopathy | Treatment with diluted preparations made from the disease agent or substance itself. | Usually billed under GebüH section "General services". Open the section |
| Whole-body cell regeneration therapyListed | Homeopathy | A therapy with homeopathic preparations that the directory lists among the homeopathic methods. | Usually billed under GebüH section "General services". Open the section |
| Anthroposophic medicineListed | Anthroposophic medicine | Medicine based on the teaching of Rudolf Steiner, with its own remedies and artistic therapies. | Usually billed under GebüH section "General services". Open the section |
| OsteopathyListed | Manual methods | Hands-on treatment that works on the mobility of joints, muscles, connective tissue and organs. | Usually billed under GebüH section "Osteopathic treatment". Open the section |
| Feldenkrais methodListed | Mind and body | Learning to move with more awareness through slow, guided movement sequences, named after Moshé Feldenkrais. | No GebüH section of its own; billed by the services done. |
| KinesiologyListed | Other methods | A test method that reads the strength of a muscle as a response of the body. | No GebüH section of its own; billed by the services done. |
| Luescher colour testListed | Mind and body | A test in which the patient puts colour cards in order of preference, developed by the psychologist Max Luescher. | No GebüH section of its own; billed by the services done. |
| Autologous blood therapyListed | Other methods | A small amount of the patient's own blood is taken and injected again, untreated or prepared first. | Usually billed under GebüH section "Autologous blood and urine". Open the section |
| Ozone autologous blood therapyListed | Other methods | The patient's own blood is mixed with an ozone and oxygen mixture before it is given back. | Usually billed under GebüH section "Autologous blood and urine". Open the section |
| Haematogenic oxidation therapyListed | Other methods | The patient's own blood is foamed with oxygen, exposed to UV light and given back. | Usually billed under GebüH section "Injections and infusions". Open the section |
| Oxygen therapiesListed | Other methods | Methods that give oxygen or an ozone and oxygen mixture by breathing, injection or through the patient's own blood. | Usually billed under GebüH section "Inhalations and aerosols". Open the section Usually billed under GebüH section "Injections and infusions". Open the section |
| Enzyme therapyListed | Nutrition and orthomolecular therapy | Treatment with enzyme preparations from plants or animals, taken by mouth. | Usually billed under GebüH section "General services". Open the section |
| Orthomolecular therapyListed | Nutrition and orthomolecular therapy | Treatment with vitamins, minerals, trace elements and other substances the body knows from food. | Usually billed under GebüH section "General services". Open the section |
| Nutritional therapyListed | Nutrition and orthomolecular therapy | A diet plan made for the individual patient, with advice on what and how to eat. | Usually billed under GebüH section "General services". Open the section |
| Microbiological therapyListed | Nutrition and orthomolecular therapy | Treatment with preparations of live or inactivated bacteria, mostly aimed at the gut flora. | Usually billed under GebüH section "General services". Open the section |
| OrganotherapyListed | Other methods | Treatment with preparations made from animal organs or tissues, for example thymus extracts. | No GebüH section of its own; billed by the services done. |
| Herbal medicineListed | Other methods | Treatment with medicines made from plants or parts of plants, including aromatherapy with essential oils. | Usually billed under GebüH section "General services". Open the section |
| AyurvedaListed | Other methods | The traditional medicine of India, with diet, herbal remedies, oil treatments and cleansing methods. | No GebüH section of its own; billed by the services done. |
| Neural therapyListed | Other methods | Injections of a local anaesthetic into the skin, nerve points or scars, after the Huneke brothers. | Usually billed under GebüH section "Injections and infusions". Open the section Usually billed under GebüH section "Infiltrations". Open the section |
| HydrotherapyListed | Physical therapy | Applications with water of different temperatures, such as baths, affusions and compresses. | Usually billed under GebüH section "Medicinal baths and hydrotherapy". Open the section |
| HyperthermiaListed | Physical therapy | Raising the temperature of the whole body or a part of it on purpose, with heat or radiation. | No GebüH section of its own; billed by the services done. |
| Physical medicineListed | Physical therapy | The umbrella term for treatment with physical means such as heat, cold, water, light, electricity and movement. | No GebüH section of its own; billed by the services done. |
| MassageListed | Physical therapy | Treatment of skin, muscles and connective tissue with the hands, through stroking, kneading and pressure. | Usually billed under GebüH section "Breathing therapy and massage". Open the section |
| InhalationListed | Physical therapy | Breathing in vapour, drops or aerosols with an active substance, usually with a device. | Usually billed under GebüH section "Inhalations and aerosols". Open the section |
| Heat treatmentListed | Physical therapy | Applying heat to the body, for example with packs, hot air or infrared light. | Usually billed under GebüH section "Special packs". Open the section |
| Cold therapyListed | Physical therapy | Applying cold to the body, for example with ice packs or cold air. | No GebüH section of its own; billed by the services done. |
| ElectrotherapyListed | Physical therapy | Treatment with electric currents of different frequencies applied through electrodes on the skin. | Usually billed under GebüH section "Electro-physical therapies". Open the section |
| Light therapyListed | Physical therapy | Exposure to light of chosen wavelengths, from visible light to infrared and UV. | Usually billed under GebüH section "Electro-physical therapies". Open the section |
| Magnetic field therapyListed | Physical therapy | Exposure to pulsed or static magnetic fields from a special device. | Usually billed under GebüH section "Electro-physical therapies". Open the section |
| Bioenergetic medicineListed | Other methods | The umbrella term for methods that measure or treat with electrical and electromagnetic signals of the body. | Usually billed under GebüH section "Bioenergetic methods". Open the section |
| Bioresonance therapyListed | Other methods | A device picks up electromagnetic signals from the body and sends them back changed, a bioenergetic method. | Usually billed under GebüH section "Bioenergetic methods". Open the section |
| Bioelectric function diagnostics and therapyListed | Other methods | Measuring the skin's electrical resistance at defined points, a bioenergetic method related to electroacupuncture. | Usually billed under GebüH section "Bioenergetic methods". Open the section |
| Bioenergetic information diagnostics and therapyListed | Other methods | A bioenergetic method that works with electromagnetic signals the body is said to give off. | Usually billed under GebüH section "Bioenergetic methods". Open the section |
| DECODER diagnosticsListed | Other methods | A bioenergetic test method that records and analyses signals of the autonomic nervous system with a device. | Usually billed under GebüH section "Bioenergetic methods". Open the section |
| Functional proteomics (CEIA)Listed | Other methods | A laboratory test of proteins in the blood, which the directory lists as a test method. | No GebüH section of its own; billed by the services done. |
| ThermographyListed | Other methods | Measuring the skin temperature at many points, a test method that reads the body's heat regulation. | No GebüH section of its own; billed by the services done. |
| BloodlettingListed | Drainage and counter-irritation methods | Taking a larger amount of blood from a vein, one of the oldest draining methods. | Usually billed under GebüH section "Blood draws". Open the section |
| Baunscheidt methodListed | Drainage and counter-irritation methods | The skin is pricked with a needle roller and rubbed with an irritating oil, named after Carl Baunscheidt. | Usually billed under GebüH section "Skin derivation and counter-irritation". Open the section |
| Cantharidin plasterListed | Drainage and counter-irritation methods | A plaster with cantharidin that raises a blister on the skin on purpose, a counter-irritation method. | Usually billed under GebüH section "Skin derivation and counter-irritation". Open the section |
| CuppingListed | Drainage and counter-irritation methods | Cups with a vacuum are put on the skin, dry or after small cuts in the skin. | Usually billed under GebüH section "Skin derivation and counter-irritation". Open the section |
| Leech therapyListed | Drainage and counter-irritation methods | Medical leeches are put on the skin and draw a small amount of blood. | Usually billed under GebüH section "Skin derivation and counter-irritation". Open the section |
| Roeder methodListed | Drainage and counter-irritation methods | Massage and suction of the throat and tonsils by the method of the doctor Heinrich Roeder. | Usually billed under GebüH section "Roeder method". Open the section |
| Environmental medicineListed | Other methods | Looking for links between a patient's complaints and substances in the home, at work or in food. | No GebüH section of its own; billed by the services done. |
The whole list
The names from the public insurer lists, in our own categories, with the GebüH section a Heilpraktiker usually bills each one under.
51 methods
Good to know
Short answers to what colleagues ask most often. Information, not legal or billing advice.
A catalogue of natural-medicine methods published by the Hufeland society, the umbrella of the German natural-medicine doctors' associations, sold by Thieme. The current edition is the 8th from 2020. Each method is described and mapped to doctors' fee codes, so a doctor can bill it and an insurer can read the bill.
Doctors who practise natural medicine, and private insurers. Several insurers write into a tariff that natural-medicine treatment is covered when the method is in the Hufeland directory. HanseMerkur and R+V publish the method names they accept.
The GebüH is the Heilpraktiker fee schedule: the items you bill. The Hufeland directory lists methods, not fees for a Heilpraktiker, and maps them to doctors' codes. You bill by GebüH. The directory matters when a patient asks whether the insurer covers a method.
Open the GebüH calculatorNo. Listed means the method is in the directory. Whether a tariff covers it, for a Heilpraktiker as well as for a doctor, and up to which amount, is written in the patient's tariff and decided by the insurer per case. Some tariffs cover Heilpraktiker treatment by GebüH without naming the directory at all.
When a patient asks whether the insurer pays for a method, check here whether the method is listed and name the GebüH item you bill. Then the patient asks the insurer, before the treatment, what the tariff covers. Put the GebüH item and its wording on the invoice, so the insurer can read it.
You write the plan, we deliver and invoice the patient, you receive a monthly credit note. No shop, no stock, no invoices on your side.