Patient satisfaction and quality of life are increasingly recognised as central elements in the monitoring and evaluation of health care. It is commonly acknowledged that patients' reports of their health and quality of life, and their satisfaction with the quality of care and services, are as important as many clinical health measures.

There are a number of reasons that patients consult a homeopathic doctor, in particular dissatisfaction and negative experiences with conventional treatment in cases of chronic diseases, i.e. the limited effectiveness and adverse effects of drugs and the invasiveness of conventional medicine (Furnham). Patients who visit homeopathic doctors tend to have healthier lifestyles and are usually more critical of medicine in general. They choose homeopathy for its perceived effectiveness, which is largely based on their own experience, and that of other persons in their social surroundings. Long-lasting reasons to continue using homeopathy are effectiveness, the good care offered by homeopathic doctors, congruence with the patient's world-view, and greater patient responsibility for their own health (Günther).

Over the last 10-15 years several observational studies have been conducted to evaluate the usefulness of homeopathy in general practice and to assess the health changes and satisfaction experienced by patients receiving homeopathic treatment.

The table below features these observational studies including their sample size, evaluation period, presence of a control group of conventionally treated patients, and rate of satisfaction.

The authors involved in the observational studies all concluded that homeopathic intervention offered positive health changes to a substantial proportion of a large cohort of patients. Patients were satisfied because they perceived homeopathy as an effective treatment with few if any adverse effects, their general sense of wellbeing and quality of life improved considerably and they were able to reduce or discontinue their conventional medication.

Several authors argue that the length of time the clinician spends with a patient, especially at initial consultation, appears to be an important factor in these complex relationships among process and outcome. However, in the study by Spence, the allocated appointment times in the homeopathic unit were de facto very similar to those for other chronic disease specialties within the hospital and still the satisfaction percentage is surprisingly high. In addition, the possibility of selection bias was very low, because such all patients had been referred independently by hundreds of other medical practitioners in both primary and secondary care.

There are certainly limitations to the inferences that can be drawn from the observational studies, especially if there has been no control group of conventionally treated patients. Still, it must be kept in mind that the majority of patients who seek homeopathy do so for help with long-standing problems, which are resistant to conventional treatments, and thus by default are unlikely to regress back to normal.

By and large, it can be concluded that these observational studies represent an important strand of evidence in favour of the effectiveness of homeopathy and patient satisfaction with the use of homeopathy in the management of a wide range of diseases.

Dr Ton Nicolai
President of European Committee for Homeopathy

References

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