Outcome and costs of homoeopathic and conventional treatment strategies: A comparative cohort study in patients with chronic disorders

• Published in: Complementary therapies in medicine Vol. 13; no. 2; pp. 79 - 86
• Main Authors: Witt, Claudia, Keil, Thomas, Selim, Dagmar, Roll, Stephanie, Vance, Will, Wegscheider, Karl, Willich, Stefan N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Scotland Elsevier Ltd 01.06.2005; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age groups; Alternative medicine; Child; Child, Preschool; Chronic disease; Chronic Disease - classification; Chronic Disease - economics; Chronic Disease - therapy; Cohort Studies; Costs; Costs and Cost Analysis; Female; Germany; Health economics; Homeopathic medicine; Homeopathy; Homeopathy - economics; Humans; Infant; Male; Outcomes; Patient satisfaction; Primary Health Care - economics; Quality of Life; Severity of Illness Index; Surveys and Questionnaires; Treatment Outcome; Germany; Costs; Health economics; Chronic disease; Outcomes; Homeopathy
• ISSN: 0965-2299; 1873-6963
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ctim.2005.03.005

To evaluate the effectiveness of homoeopathy versus conventional treatment in routine care. Comparative cohort study. Patients with selected chronic diagnoses were enrolled in medical practice. Conventional treatment or homeopathy. Severity of symptoms assessed by patients and physicians (visual rating scale, 0–10) at baseline, 6 and 12 months and costs. The analyses of 493 patients (315 adults, 178 children) indicated greater improvement in patients’ assessments after homoeopathic versus conventional treatment (adults: homeopathy from 5.7 to 3.2; conventional, 5.9–4.4; p = 0.002; children from 5.1 to 2.6 and from 4.5 to 3.2). Physician assessments were also more favourable for children who had received homoeopathic treatment (4.6–2.0 and 3.9–2.7; p < 0.001). Overall costs showed no significant differences between both treatment groups (adults, €2155 versus €2013, p = 0.856; children, €1471 versus €786, p = 0.137). Patients seeking homoeopathic treatment had a better outcome overall compared with patients on conventional treatment, whereas total costs in both groups were similar.