08/18/2020
Is homeopathy cost-effective? What's the evidence show? Here are four studies:
**In Germany, 493 patients treated by GPs for chronic conditions with homeopathy had better clinical outcomes than those treated with conventional medicine, for similar costs.
**A French study comparing the costs generated by conventional, homeopathic, and mixed medical practice in general medicine found homeopathic GPs to be up to 20% less expensive than conventional medicine GPs; and homeopathic GPs prescribed noticeably fewer psychotropic drugs, antibiotics, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
**An Italian study shows savings of ~50% for patients with respiratory diseases under homeopathic treatment versus conventional therapy.
After the first year, the spending decreased by 42% with a further reduction of 13% in the second year, representing a cost saving of 50% in total over the two years.
**Another study on recurrent upper respiratory tract infection showed homeopathic treatment to have superior medical effectiveness, fewer complications, fewer consultations, better quality of life, and less parental time off work – for equivalent direct medical costs.
Sources:
**Witt et al.: Outcome and costs of homeopathic and conventional treatment strategies: a comparative cohort study inpatients with chronic disorders. Complement Ther Med. 2005 Jun;13(2):79-86
**Colas et al., Economic impact of homeopathic practice in general medicine in France, Health Econ Review, 2015; 5: 18, 8 Jul 2015
**Rossi et al., Cost-benefit evaluation of homeopathic v conventional therapy in respiratory diseases Homp (2009) 98:2-10
**Trichard M et al., Pharmacoeconomic comparison between homeopathic and antibiotic treatment strategies in recurrent acute rhinopharyngitis in children. Homeopathy 2005:94:3-9