This policy defines the decision made by the Commissioning Delivery Committee Western Cheshire PCT has agreed that all homeopathic preparations are low priority treatments and should not be prescribed, or recommended by clinicians. NHS patients should not be referred to homeopaths. Version 1.0 Ratified By Date Ratified 06.10.2011 Author(s) Responsible Committee / Officers Commissioning Delivery Committee Prescribing policy development group adapted from NHS Bolton Commissioning Policy No 3. Area Prescribing Committee Issue Date 01 February 2012 for implementation 01 May 2012 Review Date Intended Audience Impact Assessed Earliest of either amended NICE guidance or five years from issue All Prescribers January 2011
Further information about this document: Document name Category of Document in The Policy Schedule Author(s) Contact(s) for further information about this document This document should be read in conjunction with Published by Copies of this document are available from Version Control: Commissioning Policy Prescribing policy development group Telephone: 01244 650316 Email: barbara.perry1@nhs.net Prioritisation framework NHS Western Cheshire 1829 Building Countess of Chester Health Park Liverpool Road Chester, CH2 1HJ Main Telephone Number: 0800 132 966 (Freephone) Main Email Address: feedback@wcheshirepct.nhs.uk Website: www.wcheshirepct.nhs.uk Copyright NHS Western Cheshire, 2007. All Rights Reserved Version History: Version Number Reviewing Committee / Officer Date Developed by NHS Bolton March 2010 0.1 Reviewed by Prescribing Policy development group January 2011 0.1 Reviewed by Area Prescribing Committee Sept 2011 1.0 Commissioning Delivery Committee October 2011
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Contents 1. BACKGROUND 1 2. EVIDENCE 1 3. CONCLUSIONS 2 4. RESPONSIBILITY FOR IMPLEMENTATION 2 5. REFERENCES 2 6. ROUTE FOR POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND RATIFICATION 3
1. BACKGROUND 1.1. The purpose of this document is to outline the decision taken by Commissioning Delivery Committee regarding the prescribing of all homeopathic items. The policy applies to all prescribers, both medical and non medical. 2. EVIDENCE 2.1. The evidence base for the recommendation can be found in the report: House of Commons Science and Technology Committee Evidence Check 2: Homeopathy; Fourth report of session 2009-10. A summary can be found at: http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-archive/sciencetechnology/s-t-homeopathy-inquiry/ The report states: The Science and Technology Committee concluded that the NHS should cease funding homeopathy. It also concludes that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) should not allow homeopathic product labels to make medical claims without evidence of efficacy. As they are not medicines, homeopathic products should no longer be licensed by the MHRA. The Committee carried out an evidence check to test if the Government s policies on homeopathy were based on sound evidence. The Committee found a mismatch between the evidence and policy. While the Government acknowledges there is no evidence that homeopathy works beyond the placebo effect (where a patient gets better because of their belief in the treatment), it does not intend to change or review its policies on NHS funding of homeopathy. The Committee concurred with the Government that the evidence base shows that homeopathy is not efficacious (that is, it does not work beyond the placebo effect) and that explanations for why homeopathy would work are scientifically implausible. The Committee concluded-given that the existing scientific literature showed no good evidence of efficacy-that further clinical trials of homeopathy could not be justified. In the Committee s view, homeopathy is a placebo treatment and the Government should have a policy on prescribing placebos. The Government is reluctant to address the appropriateness and ethics of prescribing placebos to patients, which usually relies on some degree of patient deception. Prescribing of placebos is not consistent with informed patient choice-which the Government claims is very important-as it means patients do not have all the information needed to make choice meaningful. :
Beyond ethical issues and the integrity of the doctor-patient relationship, prescribing pure placebos is bad medicine. Their effect is unreliable and unpredictable and cannot form the sole basis of any treatment on the NHS. 3. CONCLUSIONS 3.1. There is no evidence to support the prescribing or recommendation of homeopathic treatments. 4. RESPONSIBILITY FOR IMPLEMENTATION 4.1. Responsibility for implementation lies with West Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group and the Area Prescribing Committee. 5. REFERENCES 5.1. http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-archive/sciencetechnology/s-t-homeopathy-inquiry/ 5.2. 5.2 House of Commons Science and Technology Committee Evidence Check 2: Homeopathy. Fourth report of session 2009-2010. 5.3. 5.3 NHS Bolton Prescribing Commissioning Policy number 3 :
6. ROUTE FOR POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND RATIFICATION Agreement to adopt policy from other PCT Evidence reviewed by Public Health Specialist Evidence reviewed by Task & Finish Group and draft policy developed Draft policy reviewed and agreed by Area Prescribing Committee Draft policy finalised and ratified by Commissioning Delivery Committee Policy distributed to relevant stakeholders and uploaded on the PCT extranet and website :