How the lack of Documented Evidence has impacted the trust & fidelity of alternative medicine
Wikipedia defines alternative medicine like Homeopathy, Ayurveda, Acupuncture etc. as “Any practice which aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine, but which lacks biological plausibility and is untested or un-testable”. This definition underscores the primary problem that traditional medicine practices are facing.
The world has adopted Allopathy treatments and medicine as a proven and reliable method of curing diseases primarily for it’s scientific methods. Modern research and evidence creation has acted as a foundation for innovation in Allopathy. Alternative and complementary medicine are increasingly loosing ground to modern medicine.
Why is Allopathy able to gain advantage over traditional systems of medicine and treatment? The answer is quite evidently printed over daily newspapers.
The degradation of Homeopathy in Europe
Every belief that we follow or hold on to is a result of research and documentation of various experiments. Homeopathy, a system of medicine created in 1796 by Samuel Hahnemann in Germany is based on the belief that “like cures like”. Today, many studies are trying to prove that Homeopathy is a pseudoscience. Many studies by people from outside homeopathy practice have concluded that homeopathy is not effective to treat any disease for the lack of validation.
It is conspicuous how the medicine, which has been in practice since 1796 has only demeaned over time, due to the lack of documentary evidence. It’s practitioners have not been able to counter this narrative and have ended up loosing ground as can be seen from the developments listed below.
- While Germany in 2004, the policy that formerly offered homeopathy under its public health insurance scheme was withdrawn from its privilege, with a few exceptions.
- In June 2005, the Swiss Government withdrew insurance coverage for homeopathy and four other alternative treatments, after a trial of five long years mentioning that it did not meet efficacy and cost-effectiveness criteria of the government.
- In July 2017, the NHS, U.K, announced a policy of not funding homeopathic medicine because it is “a misuse of resources” which was later supported by the High Court in 2018.
- Recently, in July 2019, France withdrew their reimbursement for patients under homeopathic treatment effective from 2021 as they are said to “not provide sufficient public health benefits”
Documentation & case studies aids research & validation of effectiveness
For homeopathy, it appeared to be ineffective because of the lack of clear documentation & resulting validation in due course of time. Science of healthcare and medicine doesn’t believe in speculations but solid facts. Since there was almost no documentation that could aid research to enrich homeopathy, this system of medication is increasingly moving out of mainstream healthcare.
Like homeopathy, Ayurveda is also considered as an Alternative Medicine globally. Though it is still widely practiced all over India and many other countries, it needs to reinvent itself to remain relevant and wakeup to its true meaning. Validation through research and case studies done by Ayurveda practitioners would enable it to present itself as an effective healthcare option for the global healthcare industry.
AyushEHR has been built with the objective of enabling this through the adoption of standards based tools that document Ayurveda care delivery and enable validation of effectiveness. This cloud-based software is developed to help deliver personalised care , while also capturing details of care to promote validation.
Scientific documentary evidence based validation is a key necessity for enriching the future of Ayurveda. Ayurveda practitioners must make it their personal mission to work hand in hand with the Government of India in establishing Ayurveda not just as a traditional Indian process of natural healing but a universally accepted system of treatment.
Let us join hands to make Ayurveda great again. Contact us to know more..
References
- https://www.dw.com/en/german-health-insurers-urged-to-end-homeopathy-refunds/a-49546319-0
- https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(05)67149-8/fulltext
- https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2018/06/05/high-court-backs-nhs-decision-stop-funding-homeopathy/
- http://en.rfi.fr/france/20190701-france-stop-reimburse-homeopathy-fake-medecine
