Volume 108 Number 2
52 AJHM Summer 2015
Homeopathic Product Regulation
have been continually reminded of their devotion to patient
care and their thirst for excellence in pursuit of the most
effective and safest means of helping their patients. AIH
professionals meet all the requirements of training by their
state licensing bodies in addition to the many seminars and
training programs in homeopathic continuing medical edu-
cation that they pursue. Many of our providers maintain
dual board certifications: one in their conventional medical
specialty and another in homeopathic therapeutics.
The AIH supports the ongoing professional develop-
ment of its members and acts as a liaison between policy
makers, practitioners and the public. Our members have
worked closely with many other professional and certify-
ing organizations, and volunteered in both national and
international public health emergencies.
Because AIH members are highly trained in both con-
ventional and homeopathic medicine we occupy a unique
spot in the healthcare profession. Our combined expertise
could be leveraged to provide an educated and uninformed
perspective to the FDA with regard to many of your ques-
tions including, (1) consumer attitudes toward homeopathic
products, (2) the many data sources that provide accurate
information on the risks and benefits of homeopathic medi-
cines and (3) the availability of information for consum-
ers to make informed decisions about homeopathic drug
products. Over the last few weeks, in preparation for this
meeting, we have conducted active discussions within our
membership and have consolidated many viewpoints and
suggestions for this presentation.
Let me begin by addressing your question on consumer
and healthcare provider attitudes toward homeopathic
products.
The entire AIH membership is united in the opinion that
homeopathic drug products play a pivotal role in our thera-
peutic armamentarium. I have heard from our members
and read extensively in our literature, countless examples
of how homeopathic medicines have filled important gaps
and helped resolve conditions that could not otherwise be
treated by conventional therapies alone. Many patients
have come to me, in my own practice, after using homeo-
pathic OTC products and experiencing favorable results for
self limited conditions like respiratory infections, allergies,
and minor injuries, among others. Because homeopathic
OTC products are readily available and relatively easy to
use, many health conscious consumers include them as a
treatment choice.
Many consumersof those who experience a beneficial
result from these OTC products will go on to consult ex-
pert homeopathic physicians for advice on other, perhaps
chronic conditions.
Consumer attitudes toward homeopathic products have
shifted in recent years as more consumers have been ex-
posed to homeopathic medicines and have felt their effects
first hand. The majority of my patients have come to me,
not because they wanted to avoid conventional medicine,
but because they had already tried numerous conventional
treatments and had visited countless conventional medical
physicians but were unable to achieve the results they de-
sired; many came to try homeopathic products to resolve
in search of some potential solution to these types of is-
sues that remained unresolvedproblems that were not being
helped by using conventional methodologies.
A Swiss government-sponsored survey evaluating
patient satisfaction and side effects in primary care com-
pared homeopathic and conventional medical treatment
in over three thousand patients. They found that a higher
percentage of patients, atthat the patients who seek out
homeopathic care are more likely to have chronic and se-
vere conditions than those who present for conventional
treatment alone. The the time of the initial homeopathic
evaluation, had more chronic and severe conditions than
patients who initially seek care from conventional physi-
cians, that homeopathic patients were more often com-
pletely satisfied with their treatment (53 percent vs. 43
percent) compared to conventional treatment alone. , and
thatAnd homeopathic patients experienced significantly
fewer side effects (7.3 percent vs. 16.1 percent). What is
particularly important about this survey is the observation
that homeopathic patients had a higher percentage of more
serious illness at presentation but expressed a much higher
amount of satisfaction with treatment at conclusion than
those who received conventional medical treatment. This
survey also confirmed a common observation from a num-
ber of studies that people who seek homeopathic treatment
are muchsignificantly more educated than those who don’t
(32.4 percent vs. 24.7 percent had received higher educa-
tion).
1
In my own practice experience, I have usually been able
to usually provide additionalsignificantbenefits and even
permanent solutions to sucmhy patients through the use of
homeopathic medicines.
Next, I would like to address data sources on homeo-
pathic medicines.
There are many consumer-based data sources providing
information on the risks and benefits of homeopathic medi-
cines; some of these sources provide accurate information,
but many do not. There are a great number of sources that
provide information that is strongly biased against home-
opathy. One of the best sources of accurate information
is found by consulting trained and licensed physicians
who use homeopathic medicines as part of their treatment
choices. Experienced homeopathic providers rely on ar-
chives of published data spanning more than 200 years of
homeopathic history. These data sources include treated
cases, clinical research and academic studies published in
peer-reviewed journals from around the world. Since ho-
meopathy is integral to the public health services of many
nations there is ongoing research into this clinical modality
and articles are being published in many - peer-reviewed
and indexed medical journals. Online information is avail-
able through many active sites, including the AIH and other
organizations who provide consumer friendly data sources.
