The President Of The German Doctors Defends Homeopathy
Dr. Frank Ulrich Montgomery, president of the German medical college, has stated that homeopathy is a complementary medicine that helps many people.
While the campaign against homeopathy and other complementary medicines and therapies is intensifying in Spain, the president of the German College of Physicians, Dr. Frank Ulrich Montgomery, has not hesitated to come out in defense of homeopathy.
Montgomery has stated in an interview with Bayerische Rundfunk that a “pragmatic” use of complementary medicines is possible , taking into account the level of scientific evidence for each one and what the risks are.
Dr. Frank Ulrich Montgomery: “Homeopathy is helping many people”
Dr. Montgomery affirmed that “it is a reality that homeopathy is helping many people”, as revealed by surveys of use and satisfaction.
A study carried out by the German Pharmacists Association revealed that a good part of Germans rely on alternative medicines such as homeopathy. Studies indicate that 64% have ever used homeopathy and that more than 70% of those who did are satisfied with both its efficacy and tolerance.
The president of the German physicians stated that it is important that complementary therapists know their limits and when they should take the step towards allopathic medicine. On homeopathy, he said that “when the professional has a good medical training, it makes a lot of sense.”
Is homeopathy effective or is it just a placebo?
Whenever homeopathy comes into public debate, the question of its efficacy is raised. Is it an effective healing method or is it based on the placebo effect?
In reality, each part of the discussion insists on its particular point of view. On the one hand, doctors who defend a rigorously scientific orientation only accept therapies whose results are explainable and measurable. On the other hand, homeopathic physicians know first-hand about successes in therapy.
The truth is that there is no scientific explanation for how homeopathy works. There are hypotheses. There is no proven explanation why ultra-dilute substances can cause an effect.
Flexible application of scientific evidence
But is it necessary to demand equally strong scientific proof of all medicines? Dr. Jesús María Fernández, deputy for the PSOE, explained in the Health Committee of Congress that a therapy with little or no risk, as is the case of homeopathy, cannot be required the same level of proof as a a potentially toxic drug.
Probably this flexible application of the scientific method makes more and more doctors with academic training open to the treatment possibilities offered by homeopathy, which, on the other hand, is much loved and demanded by more and more citizens.
According to WHO data, in Europe there are more than 45,000 doctors who regularly prescribe homeopathy and, according to a survey carried out in Spain, there are 10,000 doctors who have prescribed homeopathic medicines at some point.
