EPOS was founded in 1985 as a private joint venture of GOPA and the Medical Faculty of the Private University of Witten-Herdecke in the legal form of a limited liability company. Through EPOS, special know-how of the Faculty of Medicine and its affiliated 8 hospitals (offering holistic treatment) should be spread not only in Germany, but especially in the context of the German and European development cooperation. The management was executed in the first 4 years by an employee of the University.