The Homeopathic Clinic in Lucca, funded by the Region of Tuscany, was originally set
up in 1998 as part of a pilot project designed to evaluate the possibility of including
complementary medicine (CM) into the public health care system.
The following are the main activities in the field of clinics, research and education
carried out in these years.
Outcome
: The data have been updated with those collected from September 1998 to December
2010: 2,592 patients visited for a total of 6,812 consecutive visits. The results
were assessed using the Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital Outcome Score (GHHOS).
Paediatric patients
: An observational longitudinal study was carried out on 551 paediatric patients below
or equal to the age of 14 years (mean age 5.9 years), that is 25.7% of 2,141 patients
consecutively examined from 1998 to 2008.
Adverse effects
: In order to assess the possible risk arising from the use of homeopathy a prospective
study was carried out to investigate the adverse drug reactions related to homeopathic
medicines. Out of 335 homeopathic consecutive follow-up visits, nine adverse reactions
were reported (2.68%).
Clinical risk management
: A training course for the health professionals of Tuscan public centres of CM, including
homeopathy, was conducted. The aim was to develop a plan for the management of clinical
risk starting from the analysis of the activities in the clinics of CM, and a systematic
approach aiming at identifying and preventing risks.
Homeopathic aggravation
: To evaluate the type, intensity and frequency of homeopathic aggravation, in particular
with Quintamillesimal dilutions (LM or Q), and its prognostic value, a retrospective
study was realized on the basis of clinical data. The study examines 1,108 patients
consecutively visited, and 441 cases with follow-up. Sixty-three of them (14%) reported
a homeopathic aggravation.
Compliance
: In order to understand why the patients did not return for follow-up consultations
(drop-out) a telephone survey was carried out on each patient visited from 6/1,2002
to 5/31, 2003, who did not return for a follow-up visit. 37 patients out of 73 referred
to the effectiveness of the treatment and the improvement in their state of health
as the reason why they did not return.
Long term outcome of atopic patients
: To study the outcome of atopic diseases (AD) in paediatric patients homeopathically
treated and the clinical evolution of 213 (38.6%) with atopic diseases out of 551
children consecutively examined from 1998 to 2008. After 5 years from the first visit,
all the children were contacted for long-term evaluation of the disease.
Anti-cancer treatment
: An outpatient Clinic of integrative medicine applied to oncology was set up in October
2010. In the preliminary stage of activities, 97 patients were visited, with various
types of cancer.
Cost-benefit evaluation
: A study of the Homeopathic Clinic of Lucca demonstrated cost/effectiveness of homeopathy
in respiratory diseases. Cost variation for the specific chemical/therapeutic subgroup
recorded a decrease in the first and second year of – 46.29% (p < 0.01, n = 105) and – 47.45% (n = 72) respectively.
All these data demonstrate the validity of the integration carried out in Tuscany
and the need to strengthen and consolidate the activities of complementary medicine
in public healthcare structures.
