Overview

• Britain’s NHS embeds museum visits within social prescribing, with 2023 data from the Culture Health & Wellbeing Alliance associating the programs with 37% fewer GP visits and 27% fewer hospital admissions.
• Montreal’s scheme lets physicians prescribe MMFA visits with up to 50 insurer‑covered prescriptions per doctor each year, and local AgeTeQ‑Lab studies report improved quality of life and mental well‑being.
• Brussels expanded a city‑backed program started in 2021 that now involves more than ten museums and 18 medical institutions, with museum entry paid by the city.
• France is rolling out arts‑for‑health initiatives in multiple cities, including a prescription that grants access to Nice’s Matisse Museum, alongside ongoing research on outcomes.
• German efforts remain in pilot form, including the Bode‑Museum’s mindfulness‑based project with Charité, as a TU Dresden report urges consideration for routine inclusion and experts caution that definitive medical effectiveness is not yet established.