Most Russian doctors have a positive or neutral attitude towards natural medicines; many use homeopathy to treat their patients. This is evidenced by the results of a survey of the Doctors of the Russian Federation portal, in which 1,100 specialists from various fields from all over the country took part.
According to WHO, among the practices of complementary medicine, homeopathy today occupies a leading position. About 300 million patients turn to it, and natural drugs are prescribed by up to 400 thousand doctors. In France, every second person takes such drugs, in Austria – also almost half of the population, in Italy – 25%.
The professional communities “Doctors of the Russian Federation” and “Pharma of the Russian Federation” conducted two large-scale studies to establish the level of confidence in the method on the part of Russian doctors and pharmacists.
71% of participants in the survey of the Doctors of the Russian Federation portal reported that they have a positive or neutral attitude towards natural drugs. In doctors’ prescriptions, homeopathy most often acts as an additional or supportive treatment – 38% of specialists adhere to this approach. Those who prescribe natural medicines as self-therapy – 18%. Another 15% of doctors prefer to use homeopathy as a preventive measure, and 10% recommend it as a general tonic. At the same time, the key points for most doctors when choosing homeopathic medicines are their effectiveness (this was stated by 45% of survey participants) and safety (39%).
The Pharma RF study confirmed the interest in homeopathy on the part of patients. Thus, in almost half of the cases (44%), Russians come to pharmacies and themselves request homeopathic medicines from pharmacists. About a quarter of Russians regularly use homeopathic remedies for preventive purposes, in particular to prevent viral infections. At the same time, at least 9% start taking homeopathic medicines from the moment symptoms appear – before seeing a doctor.
Consumers are choosing homeopathy for medicinal purposes as well.
According to the results of the survey “Doctors of the Russian Federation”, the majority (62%) of specialists have a positive or calm attitude towards self-prescription of homeopathic medicines. The Pharma RF survey showed that the community of pharmacists/pharmacists also supports the choice of doctors and patients – almost half (48%) of the study participants have a positive attitude towards homeopathic medicines.
Doctors prescribe homeopathic medicines in a variety of cases. As experts note, the possibilities of integrative medicine help to choose not standard, typical treatment regimens, but to find an individual approach to patients. This is especially true in the modern world, when many patients have allergic reactions to medications, serious contraindications to taking “heavy” drugs, chronic diseases, etc.
Source: Rosbalt
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