Patient satisfaction and side effects in primary care: An observational study comparing homeopathy and conventional medicine

Marian, Florica; Joost, Kerstin; Saini, Krishan D; Ammon, Klaus von; Thurneysen, André; Busato, André

doi:10.1186/1472-6882-8-52

Cited by 46 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…A number of studies have reported that patients seeking anthroposophic or homeopathic care have longer lasting and more severe health problems than patients in conventional care. At the same time, these patients report fewer adverse side effects of treatments and higher patient satisfaction (e.g., [20,21). These findings combined with the results in this study provide some indication that undertreatment by GP-CAMs is unlikely.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

“…Several studies that compare the health status of patients treated in CAM and in conventional medicine in primary care settings find that patients treated in CAM practices suffer more often from severe and chronic illnesses (e.g., [20,21]). This suggests that if we could control for severity and chronicity of illnesses (with additional data), the estimated cost differences might be larger.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Patients whose GP knows complementary medicine have lower costs and live longer

Kooreman

Baars

2010

European Journal of Integrative Medicine

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Background Health economists have largely ignored complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) as an area of research, although both clinical experiences and several empirical studies suggest cost-effectiveness of CAM. Objective To explore the cost-effectiveness of CAM compared with conventional medicine. Methods A dataset from a Dutch health insurer was used containing quarterly information on healthcare costs (care by general practitioner (GP), hospital care, pharmaceutical care, and paramedic care), dates of birth and death, gender and 6-digit postcode of all approximately 150,000 insurees, for the years 2006-2009. Data from 1913 conventional GPs were compared with data from 79 GPs with additional CAM training in acupuncture (25), homeopathy (28), and anthroposophic medicine (26). Results Patients whose GP has additional CAM training have 0-30% lower healthcare costs and mortality rates, depending on age groups and type of CAM. The lower costs result from fewer hospital stays and fewer prescription drugs. Discussion Since the differences are obtained while controlling for confounders including neighborhood specific fixed effects at a highly detailed level, the lower costs and longer lives are unlikely to be related to differences in socioeconomic status. Possible explanations include selection (e.g. people with a low taste for medical interventions might be more likely to choose CAM) and better practices (e.g. less overtreatment, more focus on preventive and curative health promotion) by GPs with knowledge of complementary medicine. More controlled studies (replication studies, research based on more comprehensive data, cost-effectiveness studies on CAM for specific diagnostic categories) are indicated.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patients whose GP knows complementary medicine have lower costs and live longer

Kooreman

Baars

2010

European Journal of Integrative Medicine

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“…21 This higher level of satisfaction with homeopathic medicines might be the result of occurrences or perceptions of fewer side-effects with homeopathic medications. 17,21,22 These results strengthen the position of homeopathic treatment as a therapeutic option for treating ILI.…”

supporting

confidence: 57%

“…This agrees with the findings of a 2001 study in France of patients visiting HGPs. 16 A higher frequency of women than men visiting homeopaths has also been found in Switzerland, 17 Norway, 18 the United States, 19 and Brazil. 20 Interestingly, the vast majority of AGPs participating in the current study were men (86%), whereas the majority of HGPs were more often women (57%).…”

mentioning

confidence: 90%

Management of Influenza-Like Illness by Homeopathic and Allopathic General Practitioners in France During the 2009–2010 Influenza Season

Vincent

Demonceaux

Deswarte³

et al. 2013

The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine

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Objective: This study was done to determine characteristics and management of patients in France visiting allopathic general practitioners (AGPs) and homeopathic general practitioners (HGPs) for influenza-like illness (ILI). Materials and Methods: Design: This was a prospective observational study. Settings/location: It was conducted in metropolitan France during the 2009-2010 influenza season. Subjects: Sixty-five HGPs and 124 AGPs recruited a total of 461 patients with ILI. Interventions: Patients were treated for ILI by their GPs. GPs and patients completed questionnaires recording demographic characteristics and patient symptoms when patients were included in the study. Patients reported satisfaction with treatment on day 4. Prescriptions were recorded by the GPs. Outcome measures: Outcome measures were patient characteristics, demographics, and symptoms at baseline; medications prescribed by type of physician; and satisfaction with treatment by type of physician and medication. Results: Most AGPs (86%), and most patients visiting them (58%) were men; whereas most HGPs (57%; p < 0.0001), and most patients visiting them (56%; p = 0.006) were women. Patients visiting AGPs were seen sooner after the appearance of symptoms, and they self-treated more frequently with cough suppressants or expectorants ( p = 0.0018). Patients visiting HGPs were seen later after the appearance of symptoms and they selftreated with homeopathic medications more frequently ( p < 0.0001). At enrollment, headaches ( p = 0.025), cough ( p = 0.01), muscle/joint pain ( p = 0.049), chills/shivering ( p < 0.001), and nasal discharge/congestion ( p = 0.002) were more common in patients visiting AGPs. Of these patients, 37.1% visiting AGPs were prescribed at least one homeopathic medication, and 59.6% of patients visiting HGPs were prescribed at least one allopathic medication. Patient satisfaction with treatment did not differ between AGPs and HGPs but was highest for patients treated with homeopathic medications only. Conclusions: In France, homeopathy is widely accepted for the treatment of ILI and does not preclude the use of allopathic medications. However, patients treated with homeopathic medications only are more satisfied with their treatment than other patients.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patients whose GP knows complementary medicine tend to have lower costs and live longer

Kooreman¹,

Baars²,

Malek³

2011

Deutsche Zeitschrift für Akupunktur

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Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. www.econstor.eu (25), homeopathy (28) and anthroposophic medicine (26). Patients whose GP has additional CAM training have 0 to 30 percent lower healthcare costs and mortality rates, depending on age groups and type of CAM. The lower costs result from fewer hospital stays and fewer prescription drugs. Since the differences are obtained while controlling for confounders including neighborhood specific fixed effects at a highly detailed level, the lower costs and longer lives are unlikely to be related to differences in socioeconomic status. Possible explanations include selection (e.g. people with a low taste for medical interventions might be more likely to choose CAM) and better practices (e.g. less overtreatment, more focus on preventive and curative health promotion) by GPs with knowledge of complementary medicine. More controlled studies (replication studies, research based on more comprehensive data, cost-effectiveness studies on CAM for specific diagnostic categories) are indicated. Terms of use: Documents in D I S C U S S I O N P A P E R S E R I E SJEL Classification: I11, I12

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Patient satisfaction and side effects in primary care: An observational study comparing homeopathy and conventional medicine

Cited by 46 publications

References 30 publications

Patients whose GP knows complementary medicine have lower costs and live longer

Patients whose GP knows complementary medicine have lower costs and live longer

Management of Influenza-Like Illness by Homeopathic and Allopathic General Practitioners in France During the 2009–2010 Influenza Season

Patients whose GP knows complementary medicine tend to have lower costs and live longer

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