This is a bibliographic record of a published health technology assessment from a member of INAHTA. No evaluation of the quality of this assessment has been made for the HTA database.

This bulletin aims to summarise the available evidence on the effectiveness of homeopathy.

- Homeopathy is a system of treating patients using very low dose preparations according to the principle 'like should be cured with like'.

- Increasing numbers of patients are seeking information on complementary medicines from NHS health professionals. It has been estimated that there are around 470,000 users of homeopathic remedies in England every year.

- Given the large number of users, and the availability of homeopathy within the NHS, it is important to establish the effectiveness of homeopathy as a treatment.

- The evidence base for homeopathy needs to be interpreted with caution. Many of the areas that have been researched are not representative of the conditions that homeopathic practitioners usually treat. Additionally, all conclusions about effectiveness should be considered together with the methodological problems of the research.

- There is currently insufficient evidence of effectiveness either to recommend homeopathy as a treatment for any specific condition, or to warrant significant changes in the current provision of homeopathy.