Research
Randomised Controlled trials (RCTs)
Evidence based medicine is the use of current best evidence for making decisions about the care of individual patients. It integrates individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research, and involves tracking down the best external evidence with which to answer clinical questions. Although evidence based medicine is not restricted to randomised controlled trials, in the world of scientific research, it is generally accepted that RCT’s are the most rigorous way of determining whether a cause-effect relationship exists between treatment and outcome, and therefore for assessing the efficacy of drugs and treatments. RCTs are based on the assumption that a given disease will display the same characteristic symptoms in different individuals, and therefore each individual can be treated in the same way.
To date (2008), 134 RCTs have been published, testing the efficacy of homeopathy on humans. 44% were positive, 50% neutral or small effect and 6% were negative. Although there have been many successful trials, the holistic approach does not fit neatly into the RCT model. For example, a number of remedies would be considered for one condition and each would have a very specific indication. The appropriate remedy will not be known until the subject has given their case. Creating trials which investigate complex treatments with multiple variables pose difficulties and therefore skew the outcome. Furthermore it is difficult to create treatment practice conditions within the parameters of an RCT and this also skews results. One example of this occured in a study at Sheffield University in the UK. The homeopath taking the case under trial conditions was able to work out which patients had received placebo, because it was clear, at the follow up consultation, that the remedy had not worked for certain individuals. This naturally confounded the outcome as the homeopath is supposed to be blinded in the trial.
The Homeopathy Research Institute
The Homeopathy Research Institute (HRI) boasts a team of highly qualified scientists and researchers. It aims to “perform and promote innovative research of the highest scientific standard in the field of homeopathy” and “enable and encourage communication between the scientific community, the medical profession, professional homeopaths, the media and the public at large”
The work of the HRI can be viewed on their website: