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Homoeopathy in the European Community
British Homoeopathic Journal January 1994, Vol. 83, pp. 1-2
Our cover Page from the manuscript of 6th edition of Hahnemann's Organon, with additional text on attached sheets of paper
Guest editorial
Homoeopathy in the European Community Development and Perspectives Homoeopathy first achieved official recognition at EC level on 1 January 1993 when 2 EC Council Directives on 'homoeopathic medicinal products' and 'homoeopathic veterinary medicinal products' came into force. When the political bodies of the European Community elaborated the projects of the single market, several initiatives emerged concerning medicines used in complementary disciplines and later also the legal aspects of practice. Some initiatives were promoted by laboratories, others by associations of practitioners. One can easily imagine how much 'fire at random' there was in the heterogeneous world of complementary medicine. At a satellite meeting of the Barcelona LMHI Congress in May 1990, it was proposed to merge in one single European entity the efforts of several organizations including the European Federation of Homoeopathic Physicians, the European Committee of Pluralistic Medicine (ECPM), the International Homoeopathic Medical Organisation (OMHI) and the Liga Medicorum Homoeopathica Internationalis (LMHI). In the light of previous experience in the European Committee for Pluralistic Medicine, where the voice of the homoeopaths and acupuncturists was drowned out by the numerous associations representing other forms of complementary medicine, it seemed imperative to deal with homoeopathy separately and not mixed up with other complementary therapies such as acupuncture, mesotherapy, oste-
opathy, aromatherapy, gemmotherapy, Kneipp therapy, balneotherapy, phytotherapy, anthroposophy, herbalism etc. Several meetings were held in Cologne, Germany, mainly on education and the manufacture of homoeopathic medicines, with reference to the European Committee Directive on homoeopathic medicinal products.
The European Committee for Homoeopathy At the congress of the Liga Medicorum Homoeopathica Internationalis in Cologne in May 1991, a steering committee organized the first meeting of the European Committee for Homoeopathy to be held in Brussels in June 1991. This represented the 12 countries of the European Community, plus Austria and Switzerland, and took over the tasks originally undertaken by the British Faculty of Homoeopathy, relating to the Directive the Pharmacology and to the Cologne meetings on education. 4 major areas of work for the European Committee for Homoeopathy were identified: Politics, Education, Research and Pharmacology. Accordingly, 4 subcommittees were formed: 1 Politics, Ethics, Users/Patients, Cost and Benefits 2 Education 3 Pharmacology and Materia Medica, Pharmacopoeia 4 Research, Clinical Investigation and Epidemiology, Provings, Clinical Verification,
British Homteopathic Journal
Documentation, Harmonization of Norms and Parameters and Cost Evaluation The main political issues were a) the proposed directive of the European Commission for manufacturing, labelling and dispensing homoeopathic medicines and b) at a later stage, the initiative in the European Parliament for legal recognition of practitioners. The second initiative, on practitioners, also related to the task of the subcommittee for education. Several political issues relating to homoeopathic medical practice and the criteria to be respected in clinical investigations and provings induced the European Committee for Homoeopathy to include the question of ethics. Cost effectiveness and education Another important question was the Definition and Harmonization of Norms and Parameters and Cost-Benefit Evaluation with its repercussions on the social security systems in European Community countries. Relevant data have to be collected not only in individual countries but also by the different teams in each country dealing with education, private and hospital practice and pharmacology. The European authorities are very concerned with the opinion and demands of users and every initiative must include consultation with consumer associations. The European Committee for Homoeopathy therefore wants to include the voice of existing associations of homoeopathic patients. In the last 3 years the subcommittee for Education has made the greatest progress in its task by merging the experience of education in all European Community countries. The experiences of different schools have been carefully compared, and a general agreement has been obtained on an European Programme of Basic Teaching Standards in Homoeopathy. This covers both theory and practical training. Issues which remain to be dealt with are: teachers, examinations, examiners and diplomas. Actual implementation of the agreed basic standards of the schools in different countries is still pending. Pharmacology and research The list of medicines which may be considered homoeopathic continues to be a highly con-
troversial issue. Its corollary is the elaboration of the European Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia as an extension of the European Pharmacopoeia. This issue has been referred to the Council of Europe by the European Community. One of the main concerns continues to be provision of monographs for every medicine. A number of frequently prescribed medicines are still inadequately documented, in spite of their well-known clinical efficacy. The answer will come from pharmacology, provings and clinical investigations. The Subcommittee for Pharmacology and Materia Medica met twice in 1993, in Brussels in February and in Montpellier (France) in November. On research, 2 points must be taken into account. One is the freedom that must be given to investigators to probe any hypothesis of their choice, any scientific experiment retaining its full value, whether the conclusion be positive or negative. The second relates to the requirements and demands in matters where politics, education and pharmacology have priorities that must be answered by research. The Research Subcommittee has met twice in Vienna, in April 1992 and again in April 1993, with exchanges, reflections and confrontations of speculative, philosophical and experimental investigations in chemistry, physics as well as in clinical research. A task force has been created for clinical investigation, including therapeutic trials and clinical verification of proved symptoms. The first session on Provings was held in Bonn in September 1993. Experience with protocols and technology was shared. Looking forward Last but not least the European Committee for Homoeopathy is concerned with homoeopathic documentation scattered through public and private libraries in the different European countries. A few limited meetings have been held with the aim of harmonizing references and retrieval systems in order to improve and extend accessibility of homoeopathic documentation. We badly need more partners to cooperate in this large task. JACQUES
IMBERECHTS,
MD
Our cover Page from the manuscript of 6th edition of Hahnemann's Organon, with additional text on attached sheets of paper
Guest editorial
Homoeopathy in the European Community Development and Perspectives Homoeopathy first achieved official recognition at EC level on 1 January 1993 when 2 EC Council Directives on 'homoeopathic medicinal products' and 'homoeopathic veterinary medicinal products' came into force. When the political bodies of the European Community elaborated the projects of the single market, several initiatives emerged concerning medicines used in complementary disciplines and later also the legal aspects of practice. Some initiatives were promoted by laboratories, others by associations of practitioners. One can easily imagine how much 'fire at random' there was in the heterogeneous world of complementary medicine. At a satellite meeting of the Barcelona LMHI Congress in May 1990, it was proposed to merge in one single European entity the efforts of several organizations including the European Federation of Homoeopathic Physicians, the European Committee of Pluralistic Medicine (ECPM), the International Homoeopathic Medical Organisation (OMHI) and the Liga Medicorum Homoeopathica Internationalis (LMHI). In the light of previous experience in the European Committee for Pluralistic Medicine, where the voice of the homoeopaths and acupuncturists was drowned out by the numerous associations representing other forms of complementary medicine, it seemed imperative to deal with homoeopathy separately and not mixed up with other complementary therapies such as acupuncture, mesotherapy, oste-
opathy, aromatherapy, gemmotherapy, Kneipp therapy, balneotherapy, phytotherapy, anthroposophy, herbalism etc. Several meetings were held in Cologne, Germany, mainly on education and the manufacture of homoeopathic medicines, with reference to the European Committee Directive on homoeopathic medicinal products.
The European Committee for Homoeopathy At the congress of the Liga Medicorum Homoeopathica Internationalis in Cologne in May 1991, a steering committee organized the first meeting of the European Committee for Homoeopathy to be held in Brussels in June 1991. This represented the 12 countries of the European Community, plus Austria and Switzerland, and took over the tasks originally undertaken by the British Faculty of Homoeopathy, relating to the Directive the Pharmacology and to the Cologne meetings on education. 4 major areas of work for the European Committee for Homoeopathy were identified: Politics, Education, Research and Pharmacology. Accordingly, 4 subcommittees were formed: 1 Politics, Ethics, Users/Patients, Cost and Benefits 2 Education 3 Pharmacology and Materia Medica, Pharmacopoeia 4 Research, Clinical Investigation and Epidemiology, Provings, Clinical Verification,
British Homteopathic Journal
Documentation, Harmonization of Norms and Parameters and Cost Evaluation The main political issues were a) the proposed directive of the European Commission for manufacturing, labelling and dispensing homoeopathic medicines and b) at a later stage, the initiative in the European Parliament for legal recognition of practitioners. The second initiative, on practitioners, also related to the task of the subcommittee for education. Several political issues relating to homoeopathic medical practice and the criteria to be respected in clinical investigations and provings induced the European Committee for Homoeopathy to include the question of ethics. Cost effectiveness and education Another important question was the Definition and Harmonization of Norms and Parameters and Cost-Benefit Evaluation with its repercussions on the social security systems in European Community countries. Relevant data have to be collected not only in individual countries but also by the different teams in each country dealing with education, private and hospital practice and pharmacology. The European authorities are very concerned with the opinion and demands of users and every initiative must include consultation with consumer associations. The European Committee for Homoeopathy therefore wants to include the voice of existing associations of homoeopathic patients. In the last 3 years the subcommittee for Education has made the greatest progress in its task by merging the experience of education in all European Community countries. The experiences of different schools have been carefully compared, and a general agreement has been obtained on an European Programme of Basic Teaching Standards in Homoeopathy. This covers both theory and practical training. Issues which remain to be dealt with are: teachers, examinations, examiners and diplomas. Actual implementation of the agreed basic standards of the schools in different countries is still pending. Pharmacology and research The list of medicines which may be considered homoeopathic continues to be a highly con-
troversial issue. Its corollary is the elaboration of the European Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia as an extension of the European Pharmacopoeia. This issue has been referred to the Council of Europe by the European Community. One of the main concerns continues to be provision of monographs for every medicine. A number of frequently prescribed medicines are still inadequately documented, in spite of their well-known clinical efficacy. The answer will come from pharmacology, provings and clinical investigations. The Subcommittee for Pharmacology and Materia Medica met twice in 1993, in Brussels in February and in Montpellier (France) in November. On research, 2 points must be taken into account. One is the freedom that must be given to investigators to probe any hypothesis of their choice, any scientific experiment retaining its full value, whether the conclusion be positive or negative. The second relates to the requirements and demands in matters where politics, education and pharmacology have priorities that must be answered by research. The Research Subcommittee has met twice in Vienna, in April 1992 and again in April 1993, with exchanges, reflections and confrontations of speculative, philosophical and experimental investigations in chemistry, physics as well as in clinical research. A task force has been created for clinical investigation, including therapeutic trials and clinical verification of proved symptoms. The first session on Provings was held in Bonn in September 1993. Experience with protocols and technology was shared. Looking forward Last but not least the European Committee for Homoeopathy is concerned with homoeopathic documentation scattered through public and private libraries in the different European countries. A few limited meetings have been held with the aim of harmonizing references and retrieval systems in order to improve and extend accessibility of homoeopathic documentation. We badly need more partners to cooperate in this large task. JACQUES
IMBERECHTS,
MD