Choose homeopathy at your risk, cautions Australian National Health Medical Research Council
Canberra (ISJ) ? Australian medical authority says, there is no evidence to support the claim that homeopathy is effective in treating health conditions. In an official statement by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) cautioned, ?people who choose homeopathy may put their health at risk if they reject or delay treatments for which there is good evidence for safety and effectiveness?.
Its release follows a thorough review of the evidence, conducted as part of NHMRC to provide advice and support to the Australian�community.
The conclusion is based on the findings of a rigorous assessment of more than 1800 papers. Of�these, 225 studies met the criteria to be included in NHMRC?s examination of the effectiveness�of homeopathy.
The review found no good quality, well-designed studies with enough participants to support the�idea that homeopathy works better than a placebo, or causes health improvements equal to�those of another treatment.
Although some studies did report that homeopathy was effective, the quality of those studies�was assessed as being small and/or of poor quality. These studies had either too few�participants, poor design, poor conduct and or reporting to allow reliable conclusions to be�drawn on the effectiveness of homeopathy.
According to NHMRC CEO Professor Warwick Anderson, ?All medical treatments and interventions�should be underpinned by reliable evidence. NHMRC?s review shows that there is no good�quality evidence to support the claim that homeopathy works better than a placebo.?
He said,�homeopathy should not be used to treat conditions that are chronic, serious, or could become�serious.
?People who are considering�whether to use homeopathy should first get advice from a registered health practitioner and in�the meanwhile keep taking any prescribed treatments,? said Professor Anderson.
He emphasised that health practitioners should always offer treatments and therapies based on�the best available evidence.
?It is important that the public has access to independent, high quality advice when it comes to�making decisions about their health care. From this review, the main recommendation for Australians is that they should not rely on�homeopathy as a substitute for proven, effective treatments,? said Professor Anderson.
