Effective Healthcare
Bulletin on the effectiveness of health service interventions for decision makers
Source: Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, University of York
- Homeopathy is a system of treating patients using very low dose preparations according to the principle 'like should be cured with like'.
- Increasing numbers of patients are seeking information on complementary medicines from NHS health professionals. It has been estimated that there are around 470,000 users of homeopathic remedies in England every year.
- Given the large number of users, and the availability of homeopathy within the NHS, it is important to establish the effectiveness of homeopathy as a treatment.
- The evidence base for homeopathy needs to be interpreted with caution. Many of the areas that have been researched are not representative of the conditions that homeopathic practitioners usually treat. Additionally, all conclusions about effectiveness should be considered together with the methodological problems of the research.
- There is currently insufficient evidence of effectiveness either to recommend homeopathy as a treatment for any specific condition, or to warrant significant changes in the current provision of homeopathy.
The Effective Health Care bulletins are based on systematic review and synthesis of research on clinical effectiveness, cost effectiveness and acceptability of health service interventions. This is carried out by a research team using established methodological guidelines, with advice from expert consultants for each topic. Great care is taken to ensure that the work, and the conclusions reached, fairly and accurately summarise the research findings. The University of York accepts no responsibility for any consequent damage arising from the use of Effective Health Care.
Note: The contents of the bulletins should be considered in relation to the time of original publication. Significant new research evidence is likely to have become available since then.
The bulletins are also available free of charge via the World Wide Web. The address is: www.york.ac.uk/inst/crd/ehcb.htm
Enquiries concerning the bulletins should be addressed to:
Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, University of York, York, YO10 5DD. Telephone: +44 (0) 1904 321040; Fax: +44 (0) 1904 321041; email: crd@york.ac.uk
Homeopathy. Effective Health Care, 2002, Volume 7, Number 3. ISSN: 0965-0288
