Incorporating Hahnemannian principles in the practice of tele-homoeopathy: Current scenario and future possibilities

Abstract

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic prevented people from accessing medical care in person; in such a scenario, telemedicine emerged as a boon. Telemedicine helped to increase the availability of homoeopathy during the pandemic. The Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) formulated guidelines to enable registered homoeopathic practitioners (RHPs) to safely provide healthcare using telemedicine. In this study, we demonstrated the scope of telemedicine in homoeopathic practice by incorporating Hahnemannian principles in a case-based learning (CBL) module. Materials and Methods: A retrospective purposive study was conducted on 10 acute cases that were treated with homoeopathy through telemedicine during the COVID-19 lockdown. Patient-physician communications were analysed using Hahnemannian principles. Cases were assessed based on telecommunication application, type of consent, symptoms, signs, nosological provisional diagnosis, risk assessment, comorbidity, miasm and susceptibility status, totality of symptoms, repetition strategy and type of consult. Therapeutic management included building a logical framework of the case and auxiliary counselling. Patients were followed up to determine their health status. Results: All 10 cases were successfully treated with homoeopathy using AYUSH Telemedicine Practice Guidelines (ATPG) and incorporating Hahnemannian principles. Tele-homoeopathy was found to be effective in the pandemic by preventing disease spread and progression from mild to severe stage. Conclusion: Adhering to the ATPG and incorporating Hahnemannian principles can be effectively demonstrated through CBL modules; these enable RHPs to develop rational thinking and learn from clinical experiences.