Abstract
Background and aims:
A base for targeted research and development in homeopathy can be founded on systematic
collection and analysis of relevant clinical data obtained by doctors in routine practice.
With these longer-term aims in mind, we conducted a pilot data collection study, in
which 14 homeopathic physicians collected clinical and outcomes data over a 6-month
period in their practice setting.
Methods:
A specifically designed Excel spreadsheet enabled recording of consecutive clinical appointments under the following
main headings: date, patient identity (anonymised), age and gender, medical condition/complaint
treated, whether chronic or acute, new or follow-up case, patient-assessed outcome
(7-point Likert scale: −3 to +3) compared with first appointment, homeopathic medicine/s
prescribed, whether any other medication/s being taken for the condition. Spreadsheets
were submitted monthly via email to the project co-ordinator for data synthesis and
analysis.
Results:
Practitioners typically submitted data regularly and punctually, and most data cells
were completed as required, enabling substantial data analysis. The mean age of patients
was 41.5 years. A total of 1783 individual patient conditions were treated overall.
Outcome from two or more homeopathic appointments per patient condition was obtained
in 961 cases (75.9% positive, 4.6% negative, 14.7% no change; 4.8% outcome not recorded).
Strongly positive outcomes (scores of +2 or +3) were achieved most notably in the
frequently treated conditions of anxiety, depression, and irritable bowel syndrome.
Conclusions:
This multi-practitioner pilot study has indicated that systematic recording of clinical
data in homeopathy is both feasible and capable of informing future research. A refined
version of the spreadsheet can be employed in larger-scale research-targeted clinical
data collection in the medical practice setting—particularly in primary care.
Keywords
systematic data collection - homeopathic doctors - clinical outcomes - research targeting
