Documentation of Prescriptions and Clinical Outcomes in a Homeopathic Hospital Setting in West Bengal, India. (July 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Saha, Subhranil; Koley, Munmun; Ghosh, Shubhamoy; Giri, Mohan; Das, Asim; Goenka, Rachna
• Is Part Of: Journal of evidence-based complementary & alternative medicine. Volume 20:Number 3(2015:Jul.)
• Page Start: 180
• Page End: 185
• Publication Date: 2015-07
• Subjects: systematic data collection -- patient-reported outcomes -- homeopathy -- India; Alternative medicine -- Periodicals; Complementary Therapies -- Periodicals; 615.505
• DOI: 10.1177/2156587214568459
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2156-5872

Abstract

Documentation of prescriptions and clinical outcomes in routine homeopathic practice is a prerequisite for conducting targeted research in homeopathy. Six homeopathic physicians participated in methodical data collection over a 3-month period in 6 outpatient departments of Mahesh Bhattacharyya Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital, West Bengal, India. A specifically designed Microsoft Excel spreadsheet enabled recording of consecutive appointments—date, patient identity, medical condition/complaint, whether chronic/acute, new/follow-up case, patient-assessed outcome (7-point Likert-type scale: −3 to +3), prescribed homeopathic medication, and whether other medication/s being taken for the condition. Spreadsheets were submitted monthly for data synthesis and analysis. A total of 1972 patients' follow-up generated data of 2905 appointments, of which 2272 (78.2%) were positive, 183 (6.3%) negative, and 450 (15.5%) showed no change. Strongly positive outcomes (scores of +2/+3) were recorded in osteoarthritis, piles, cough, dysfunctional uterine bleeding, chronic suppurative otitis media, and conjunctivitis. This systematic recording short-listed promising areas of future homeopathic research.