cam02a_information_paper

Homeopathy is commonly used around the world, however, there are no reliable estimates of
Australians’ current use of homeopathic medicines. A 2009 World Health Organisation review on the
safety of homeopathy reported that each year, Australians spend an estimated US $7.3 million on
homeopathic medicines. [5]
Why did NHMRC conduct an assessment of homeopathy?
NHMRC is responsible for supporting health and medical research as well as providing Australians
with advice based on the best available evidence. This advice assists people in making informed
decisions about their health care. This includes providing advice about the use of conventional
therapies, as well as complementary and alternative medicines or traditional practices which,
despite their longstanding history of use, may not have been demonstrated to be effective.
Many health care practices and products are promoted as beneficial to health when there is little
or no evidence to support these claims. In some cases these claims may mislead people to reject
practices and treatments that are proven to be effective, in favour of non-evidence-based treatments.
People who use homeopathy need to understand the potential benefits and risks to enable them
to make an informed decision. Health practitioners also need to know what homeopathy is, be
aware of the current scientific evidence from research on homeopathy, and understand any possible
benefits and risks to patients—particularly when people decide to use homeopathy instead of other
evidence‐based treatments.
For these reasons, NHMRC undertook an assessment of the evidence to provide Australians with
reliable information on the effectiveness of homeopathy.
NHMRC INFORMATION PAPER
EVIDENCE ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF HOMEOPATHY FOR TREATING HEALTH CONDITIONS
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