The National Council of the Order of Physicians affirms in a recent press release that homeopathy should not be prescribed as a first resort. For the time being, these treatments are still reimbursed by Health Insurance, even if the oppositions are more and more numerous.
Homeopathy continues to fuel the debates. The Council of the Order of Physicians recently published a “focus on the ethical framework that is binding on all“concerning the prescription of homeopathy as a first resort.
“The use of the terms” alternative and complementary medicine “, particularly concerning homeopathy, maintains an ambiguity which is a source of confusion and disputes of interpretation”, denounce the doctors. Homeopathy can be prescribed, but only as a supplement and after trying more traditional treatments. “It can include an adjuvant or complementary prescription, drug or other, that the doctor appreciates conscientiously in each situation, after having delivered to the patient fair, clear and appropriate information”, adds the National Council of the Order.
Homeopathy is it effective?
The text recalls that these drugs are not “proven by science”. This prohibits doctors from presenting it as “healthy and safe”. In a press release, published shortly after that of the Council of the Order, the Confederation of French Medical Syndicates denounced the “pillorying of homeopathy”. The latter recall that “doctors who practice homeopathy are above all doctors who have the usual tools in their therapeutic arsenal.” Homeopathy remains, for them, a complement to other therapeutic options.
This reaction to the opinion of the National Council of the Order of Physicians illustrates the content of recent debates on the subject. Last March, 124 health professionals signed a forum in Le Figaro in which they called alternative medicines, including homeopathy, expensive and ineffective. This was in line with the conclusions of studies already carried out on these drugs. In October 2017, the European Academy of Sciences published the conclusions of this research: homeopathy can sometimes have a placebo effect but there is no proof of its effectiveness, whatever the disease.
A reimbursement that is the subject of debate
Homeopathy is reimbursed up to 30% by health insurance. Faced with questions about its effectiveness, this reimbursement is frequently questioned by its opponents. Asked about France Inter last May, the Minister of Health Agnès Buzyn said on this subject: “homeopathy could enter into common law and be scientifically evaluated. If it is useful, it will remain reimbursed. If it is useless, it will stop being. “
.@agnesbuzyn : “Homeopathy has never been medically evaluated” pic.twitter.com/U98pi9qIAn
– France Inter (@franceinter) May 24, 2018
While these drugs should not replace drug treatments when needed, their supervised use helps many patients. In France, one in two French people have recourse to homeopathy. The market alone represented 620 million euros in France in 2016 according to drug companies.
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