30 March 2019

Quackery

The Guardian reports that a joint report by France's Academy of Medicine and  Academy of Pharmacy has concluded that homeopathic products should no longer be subsidised under the nation’s health system. The reason? There is no evidence that the products work.

The academies also recommended stopping degrees in homeopathy from medical faculties.

In a joint statement the academies are reported as stating that
no homeopathic preparation should be reimbursed by Assurance Maladie [France’s health insurance] until the demonstration of sufficient medical benefit has been provided. No university degree in homeopathy should be issued by medical or pharmaceutical faculties.
I've elsewhere noted that until recently private educational institutions in Australia, accredited by TEQSA, were until recently charging around $75,000 for a Bachelors degree in homeopathy and that public institutions, including universities, featured homeopathy units in 'health sciences' degrees.

The French academies are reported as commenting
The reimbursing of these products by the social security seems aberrant at a time when, for economic reasons, we are not reimbursing many classic medicines because they are more or less considered to not work well enough.

Last year the Collège National des Généralistes Engseignants (France's national association for teaching doctors) stated that it was not possible to justify subsidisation of homeopathic products or the teaching of homeopathy in medical school: 'It is necessary to abandon these esoteric methods, which belong in the history books'.