As Dana Ulman reports in the Huffington post, ” homeopathy is widely recognized as one of the safest methods of medicine”. Now a report from the Swiss government has also confirmed “the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of homeopathic treatment”.
In what is described as “the most comprehensive review to date of any governmental body on the scientific evidence on homeopathic medicine” the Swiss’ “Health Technology Assessment” has preformed a thorough analysis of a wide variety of clinical studies and laboratory research to determine the relative costs and most cost effective choice for treating a range of illnesses and problems.
Homeopathy is 15% cheaper than other treatments
The study concludes that the total costs for practitioners who specialized in homeopathic medicine showed, overall, a 15.4 percent reduction in overall health care costs compared with those who practiced conventional medicine as well as those who practiced complementary and alternative medicine treatments other than homeopathic.
A wide range of illnesses treated
The study looked at the effective use of homeopathy compared with other treatments across a wide range of illnesses and problems. Specific health problems addressed more cost effectively by homeopathy included:
- female fertility
- rheumatoid arthritis
- otitis media
- respiratory allergies
- dyspepsia.
The effectiveness of homeopathic treatment of women experiencing fertility problems as compared with women seeking conventional medical care was particularly notable, as was a study of children with upper respiratory tract infections who had fewer recurrences and lower antibiotic consumption than children using conventional treatment.
Rheumatic disorders
An economic assessment of 569 patients with rheumatic disorders found that 29 percent could stop taking their conventional medications, 33 percent could reduce their dependence on drugs, and only 6 percent chose to increase their medication once homeopathic treatment began.
Other benefits
And as well as the cost-effectivess of the homeopathic treatment itself the Swiss study found other benefits for patients.
In addition to reduced health care costs from homeopathic treatment, the report noted reductions in indirect costs, including fewer days off from sickness in those patients under homeopathic care and a better quality of the patient-physician relationship.
Overall this 2011 Swiss government study is a strong endorsement of homeopathy, and echoes the findings of one of the first studies to compare homeopathic and conventional medical treatment conducted in 1900 (Bradford, 1900). This also found that patients benefited from homeopathic medicines in the treatment of the many feared infectious diseases of the day, including cholera, typhoid, yellow fever, scarlet fever, pneumonia, and influenza.
Article Link of Research Report
