Introduction: The Health Technology Assessment report on effectiveness,
cost-effectiveness and appropriateness of homeopathy
was compiled on behalf of the Swiss Federal Office for
Public Health (BAG) within the framework of the ‘Program of
Evaluation of Complementary Medicine (PEK)’. Materials and
Methods: Databases accessible by Internet were systematically
searched, complemented by manual search and contacts with
experts, and evaluated according to internal and external validity
criteria. Results: Many high-quality investigations of pre-clinical
basic research proved homeopathic high-potencies inducing
regulative and specific changes in cells or living organisms.
20 of 22 systematic reviews detected at least a trend in favor of
homeopathy. In our estimation 5 studies yielded results indicating
clear evidence for homeopathic therapy. The evaluation of
29 studies in the domain ‘Upper Respiratory Tract Infections/Allergic
Reactions’ showed a positive overall result in favor of
homeopathy. 6 out of 7 controlled studies were at least equivalent
to conventional medical interventions. 8 out of 16 placebocontrolled
studies were significant in favor of homeopathy.
Swiss regulations grant a high degree of safety due to product
and training requirements for homeopathic physicians. Applied
properly, classical homeopathy has few side-effects and the use
of high-potencies is free of toxic effects. A general health-economic
statement about homeopathy cannot be made from the
available data. Conclusion: Taking internal and external validity
criteria into account, effectiveness of homeopathy can be supported
by clinical evidence and professional and adequate application
be regarded as safe. Reliable statements of cost-effectiveness
are not available at the moment. External and model
validity will have to be taken more strongly into consideration
in future studies.