The Case for Homeopathy - Overview
  C O S T  E F F E C T I V E N E S S

 
A number of studies have shown that the bills for orthodox drugs and procedures fall after the introduction of homeopathy6,7. Research carried out at the Glasgow Homoeopathic Hospital supports these findings8.

David Reilly, consultant physician at the hospital, found that the main cost of homeopathic care is the lengthy time a practitioner spends with a patient. The resultant prescription costs the NHS on average less than £2, and unit dispensing from stock (in dispensing practices and NHS clinics) is even more economical.

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He also found that homeopathic treatment resulted in a sustained fall in the number of conventional drugs patients took, thus reducing the NHS drugs bill. A survey of outpatients revealed that, after one year, 37% of patients had sustained a reduction in their conventional medications. Further, the absence of significant side effects resulted in a lowering of the costs associated with iatrogenic illness.

An extensive survey involving a representative sample of 500 outpatients attending the RLHH identified a similar trend2. One of the questions patients were asked was whether they had been using conventional medication for their main health problem when they started homeopathic treatment and whether they will still using conventional treatment.

262 patients had been using conventional medication when they first went to the hospital, but since receiving homeopathic treatment, 76 (29%) had stopped and 84 (33%) had decreased their usage. (Of the other patients, 87 (33%) had remained on the same medication and 15 (4%) had increased their medication.

The biggest changes were among patients attending for musculoskeletal problems, skin and podiatry, genito-urinary, neurological and respiratory conditions. (See table following. Figures refer to numbers of patients.)

Systems of the Body Medication Stopped Medication Decreased Medication the Same Medication Increased
Musculoskeletal 26 23 31 4
Skin & podiatry 13 7 6 2
Genito-urinary 6 5 3 0
Neurology 7 5 6 2
Respiratory 6 17 5 2

Savings are found in community as well as hospital settings. A community health project using complementary therapies in Leyton, east London, came up with similar findings for the reduction in drugs. It also found that patients visited their GPs less often following treatment9. The project is part-funded by the Redbridge and Waltham Forest HA, and run on two highly deprived housing estates initially for the inhabitants. It was later extended to take in a catchment area of 160,000 people, with 86 GPs being able to refer patients.

The complementary therapies provided are: homeopathy, osteopathy, aromatherapy, counselling, therapeutic massage, acupuncture, shiatsu. The most popular therapies are osteopathy, taken up by 24% of patients, and homeopathy 21%. An evaluation of the service was undertaken by the health authority's public health department.

A random sample of 60 clients was asked about its use of conventional medication since receiving treatment by project therapists. 31% of these patients reported they had either reduced the amount of drugs they had been taking or that they no longer needed them.

They were also asked about their visits to their GPs. Only 7% had not visited their GP before treatment (patients can self refer to the project). This figure had increased to 33% since receiving treatment, which would suggest that patients would not need to visit their GPs as frequently as in the past following homeopathic treatment.

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