Regulation and prevalence of homeopathy
In some countries, there are no specific legal regulations concerning the use of homeopathy, while in others, licenses or degrees in conventional medicine from accredited universities are required.
[6] Some homeopathic treatment is covered by the national insurance of several European countries, including Denmark, some parts of the United Kingdom, and Luxembourg.
In June 2005, the Swiss Government, after a five-year trial, withdrew insurance coverage for homeopathy and four other alternative treatments, stating that they did not meet efficacy and cost-effectiveness criteria.
[11][12] The WHO concluded on the basis of a systematic review of the scientific literature that there is no evidence that homeopathic treatments work better than a placebo.
Germany is the only member state of the EU in which homeopathic remedies based on minerals or plants, and produced only in very low quantities, do not need to be registered.
[6] A survey of more than 70,000 citizens showed that approximately 4.7 million people in Italy (8.2% of the population) used homeopathy from 1997 to 1999, including being given to 7.7% children under 14 years.
[26] In 2020, a judge from Spain dismissed a lawsuit for slander that a group of homeopaths had filed against two critics of homeopathy (Fernando Cervera and Aurelio Duque).
[28][29] In October 2013 a legal review conducted by the National Board of Health and Welfare on behalf of the government concluded that the use of homeopathy by licensed medical professionals is limited to patient-initiated last-resort treatments.
[7][31] The rules for the registration of homeopathic remedies without a concrete field of application are more liberal in Switzerland than they are in member countries of the EU.
The number of National Health Service (NHS) prescriptions for homeopathic remedies dropped by over 85% between 2000 and 2010 (from 134,000 to 16,359), with homeopathy accounting for only 0.001% of the total 2010 prescribing budget.
[47] A systematic review of surveys, published in April 2013, concluded that homeopathy is used by UK medical professionals to a minor degree, and that on average referral rates are low.
[48] Around 2009, UK universities began to close or review their courses on homeopathy and alternative medicine, after accusations that they were teaching pseudoscience.
Since no evidence of benefit was found – other than the placebo effect – the report's recommendation was that "The Government should stop allowing the funding of homeopathy on the NHS.
[52] In June 2010, the British Medical Association voted three to one in favour of a motion that homeopathy should be banned from the NHS, and kept from being sold as medicine in pharmacies.
The inclusion of HPUS in the Act has since been questioned by "lawyers, doctors, homeopaths, historians, and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials.
"[66] Homeopathic remedies are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates manufacturing and other standards that are appropriate for homeopathic drugs, mainly through The Homœopathic Pharmacopœia of the United States (HPUS) as administered by the Homœopathic Pharmacopœia Convention of the United States and section 400.400 of the FDA Compliance Policy Guidance Manual.
Homeopathic pharmaceutical techniques are not technologically complicated, and the drugs are generally considered to be biologically safe because they are so diluted to the point where there are no molecules from the original solution left in a dose of the final remedy.
Here are a few:[72] By 2007, in the United States, $3.1 billion were spent on homeopathic medicine[73] and 2.3% of the persons age 18 or over had consulted a practitioner that year.
[83] Some countries in South America, such as Argentina[6] or Colombia,[84] allow only professional doctors who are qualified and have graduated from a recognised medical school to practice homeopathy.
Earlier it was known as the Department of Indian System of Medicine and Homeopathy (ISM&H) which was created in March 1995 and renamed as Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) in November 2003, with focused attention for development of Education and Research in Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy.
Asian countries many times were exposed to both homeopathic and non-homeopathic ideas about medicine through invading armies that had ties to Europe.
In Malaysia, homeopathy was introduced during World War II by Indian military personnel that formed the bulk of the British army in Asia.
Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH) was established as an autonomous organization at New Delhi in 1978 by the Government of India.
Any person wishing to practice Homeopathy in any way whatsoever within the borders of South Africa must be registered with the AHPCSA.
Homeopathic registration in South Africa enjoys a standing, rights and privileges similar to that of conventional medical practitioners.
Whereas the vast majority of international homeopathic schools offer skills-oriented homeopathic training, South Africa offers professional training at a level required for the practising of homeopathy as a primary contact health profession in accordance with the scope of practice of such a profession.
[104] Existing practitioners were put into a closed register and in terms of the new legislation, and medical doctors were allowed to keep practicing homeopathy regardless of their knowledge of the subject.
[106] The M.Tech(Hom) consists of a five-year full-time medico-scientific course based on the medical curriculum with the core focus on classical, clinical, modern and conventional homeopathy, Homoeopharmaceutics and ending with a masters research dissertation.
Two routes thus exist for entrance into homeopathy, either via the medically based homeopathic master's degree course (MTech-Hom) or once a medical practitioner is registered for independent practice, by way of the Post Graduate Diploma in Homeopathy offered by the South African Faculty of Homoeopathy (SAFH).
[110] The Nigerian Institute of Homeopathy has special consultative status with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
